Not as thick as some
by Link Slate
Summary: A young and beautiful relationship is soon to blossom within Konoha... that is, if Naruto can ever figure out that Hinata actually likes him. Also, more pairings coming as the series progresses! Rated "T" for upcoming chapters of less innocent stuff.
1. 1: The last horse

**DISCLAIMER:**** The following is a non-profit fan-written story. It is intended for entertainment purposes only. I do not own any part of Naruto, Naruto Shippuden or any of the characters. Please support the official release.**

G'day guys and girls! Since my last fic was incredibly sad, I figured I'd try and make one that was a little more light-hearted, aimed at a younger audience. Yes, it's another NaruHina fic. I love the coupling - what can I say?

Anyways, read and review and I hope you enjoy :D

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Kiba sullenly threw another piece of bread towards Akamaru. The excited pup happily jumped into the air, caught the piece of crust and quickly chomped it down. Kiba released a disheartened sigh from the rooftops he sat upon as he gazed up at the moon, happily taunting him as he snarled in disappointment. Akamaru happily trotted up to him, making his way underneath his jacket and taking his usual spot at Kiba's chest. Kiba placed a hand over Akamaru's tummy as the pup reached up and licked his chin affectionately. Kiba looked down to see Akamaru's face, almost like it was grinning. He smiled gently.

"Heh, at least I'll always have you, right buddy?"

The pup yapped happily, his tongue hanging lazily to one side as he panted. Kiba laughed, returning his gaze to the moon as another sigh formed.

'_Man… why did I even bother?'_ he thought, thinking back to barely twenty minutes ago…

"_Oh, hey Hinata!"_

_Hinata performed a signature tiny gasp as she turned around, seeing Kiba walking towards her with a confident smile on his face. A hand was firmly fixed to the back of his head as Akamaru panted happily from inside his half-zipped jacket. Surprised, but far from rude, Hinata returned the greeting._

"_Oh, hello Kiba! What are you doing out here by yourself?" she queried, smiling shyly. Kiba laughed warmly, bringing his arm down and resting it in his pocket, mirroring his other hand._

"_Could ask the same for you. It's not like an heiress to be allowed out alone at night."_

_Hinata smiled, shaking her head as Akamaru released a contented bark._

"_Oh, I-I'll be going home soon. I just enjoy spending time…" her thoughts quickly wandered to a bright and energetic young face, making her compulsively point her two index fingers together and blush. As Hinata was quickly becoming intensely fascinated in her shoes, Kiba looked her up and down, as if waiting for her to continue._

"… _You… enjoy spending time around ramen stands?"_

_Hinata popped out of her blonde-haired day dream at the sound of Kiba's questioning tone, meeting his gaze. He was motioning to the Ichiraku Ramen Bar just a few metres away. She nervously looked around, desperately trying to find a conversational distraction from her quickly reddening cheeks._

"_Oh, ummm… no, I, well… that is, I'm… ummm…" she stuttered hopelessly, as she met his eyes. He smiled and shrugged._

"_Guess you just like being around the town, huh? I mean, the Hyuga Estate seems like a…" he paused for a moment. "… well, a pretty rough place to be, so I'll bet it's good to get out and see people smiling, right?"_

_Hinata smiled and nodded, thankful for the way around revealing her secret spying mission that Kiba's response had offered._

"_I-I just enjoy being in town, yeah."_

_Kiba smiled, grinning nervously as he drew in a large breath. 'Come on, man! It's now or never! Prove that you've got a pair, come on!'_

"_Well, anyways, ummm… it's kinda late, and, uh… I'm pretty hungry. Did you… maybe wanna… uh…" He met her eyes and motioned quickly to Ichiraku's. Kiba quickly blinked and swallowed. "Did you wanna… grab something to eat?"_

_Hinata's small smile faded to a look of surprise. She met Kiba's eyes and half-confident grin with a very shy gaze and equally timid question._

"_You… want to have dinner… with me?"_

_Kiba scratched the back of his head, quickly darting his eyes to the side._

"_Well… yeah… I-I mean, if you want."_

_Kiba blushed as he darted his eyes back to hers._

"_Like… like a date?"_

_Kiba grinned sheepishly, doing a rather poor job of hiding his nervousness._

"_Well, ummm… you know, if… if you'd like…"_

_Kiba suddenly appeared very flustered as she furiously pointed her fingers together, averting her gaze to her shoes. Her cheeks burned as they acquired a crimson-esque glow._

"_I'm… I-I'm really flattered, Kiba…"_

_Kiba's nervousness suddenly washed away as a fit of internal joy freight-trained around his body._

"… _but…"_

_Then the train suddenly slowed down._

"… _I'm actually… waiting for someone…"_

_The train then slammed on the breaks, derailed, killed a wild boar, ran into a train station and took out a couple of buildings, greatly injuring four families and causing some pretty severe damage to his own internal organs. The paperwork alone…_

_Kiba found his smile fading and, to attempt to avoid embarrassment, quickly shrugged it off and played it cool._

"_Oh, yeah, that's…" He quickly cleared his throat. "… yeah, that's fine. No biggie. Just, ya know, wanted to see if… well, hah, ya know."_

_Hinata quickly took a few steps forward._

"_I'm… I'm sorry, Kiba-"_

_Kiba quickly raised a hand, a confident smile cunningly disguised across his face._

"_Forget about it. Friends?"_

_Hinata nodded, actually meeting his eyes._

"_F-friends…"_

_Kiba returned the nod, quickly about-faced and then headed off into town._

"_See you at class on Monday!" he called as he waved back._

"Ah, I shoulda known," Kiba complained, breaking off another piece of bread for Akamaru who happily nibbled at his fingers. "Always waiting after class, following the kid, hanging off his every dumb word…"

He released a discontented sigh as he shook his head.

"Now she's even waiting outside Ichiraku's for him! She's never gonna be over you, Naruto…"

Speak of the devil…

"HEY! WHAT'S UP, KIBA?"

Kiba cursed loudly and jumped as Akamaru yelped, quickly ducking his head under Kiba's jacket. After composing himself and growing frustrated at how Naruto had nearly scared him out of clean underwear, he turned towards the always-beaming blonde, ready to tear him a new one.

"Naruto! What the hell, man? You almost scared the crap outta me! Whaddaya think you're doin', screamin' your ass off at this time of night?"

Kiba ironically didn't realise how loud he'd suddenly become. Naruto laughed loudly, pointing at Kiba.

"Hahahaha! You shoulda seen your face! It was priceless!" he happily exclaimed between laughs. Akamaru had finally gained the courage to jump out from under the comfort of Kiba's jacket. He happily jumped over to Naruto as the boy sat down, quickly insisting on a pat.

"Hahaha, how ya doin', Akamaru?" Naruto asked, giving the pup a quick scratch on his back. After a few pats on the side of his stomach, Akamaru yapped happily and returned to Kiba. Kiba rolled his eyes at Naruto, shaking his head and then turning to him.

"What the heck are you doin' up here anyway?" he asked, scratching the back of his head as Akamaru climbed into his jacket once again.

"Well, I was just wandering around and saw you up here, so figured I'd say 'hi'. After all, it's been a while since we've had a chance to talk."

Kiba turned inquisitively to the blonde. Remembering all the times they'd snuck out of class with Choji and Shikamaru, a nostalgic smile spread across Kiba's face as Naruto took a seat next to him, smiling up at the moon. In truth, it had been a while. A couple of months, actually. After they all had become Genin, they didn't have much time to spend with anyone other than their fellow teammates. Being the more boisterous of the two, Naruto naturally broke the silence and began the conversation.

"So how's training going?" Naruto quizzed, not taking his gaze off the moon. Kiba laughed.

"Yeah, getting pretty intense, coming up to the exams and all. How about you guys?"

Naruto suddenly felt a prickle of pain shooting up his backside. An uncomfortable look spread across his face as Kiba turned towards him.

"Yeah, it's, uh… it's good. Kakashi is…" Naruto pondered quickly. "… he's really got some good pointers…"

The conversation continued like this, discussing anything new that had happened to the two after they'd been separated into their respective training teams. Naruto's growing complaints about Sasuke being a 'too-cool-for-school' douchebag and Shino's bugs constantly getting under Kiba's skin were two main points that the two Genin seemed to always return to. However, as with all young men, the conversation naturally and slowly turned to girls.

"Hah, yeah, about the same on my part…" Kiba thought back to roughly half an hour ago with Hinata and sighed sadly. "Eh, wouldn't have the time, anyway. Ah well… Still chasin' after Sakura, or have you finally found out that Hi-ahhh! Ummm..."

"Huh? What was that?"

Naruto turned to him as Kiba's eyes widened. Quickly realising what he was about to say, he corrected himself.

"Uh… h-have you finally found out that Hi… _he's_ getting in the way?"

'_Phew, nice save.'_

Naruto frowned quickly, then smiled and shook his head. He had to admit, Sakura was becoming a rather distant memory as of late.

"Hah, yeah… still no luck, but I mean, ya know, whatever. Sakura has the hots for Sasuke, and Sasuke is…" he paused for a moment. "… Well, yeah. Anyway, how about you? I'm sure you've got your eyes on someone. Ino looks pretty good, and she's blonde! That's gotta be a bonus, huh? I'll bet you like Ino!"

Kiba released a short laugh, giving a quick side-glance to Naruto.

"Not even close, man. Besides, she's way outta my league."

Naruto was taken aback slightly. Ino had to be basically the prettiest girl he knew, so why wouldn't Kiba want her?

'_Tenten is alright, but she's really grown up,'_ he thought, scratching his head quickly, but Naruto didn't think Kiba knew her all that well. Going through the list of girls he knew, he finally settled on wondering about the girl with the short dark hair – the shy and silent Hinata. He'd seen her just before, actually…

_Naruto walked the streets of Konoha as blasé as he usually would. Ignoring the few looks of fear and contempt that he was often shown, he smiled happily at the thought of a large bowl of steaming hot Beef Ramen, just waiting to be devoured at Ichiraku's. His exuberant smile shone through as he grinned wide, baring his teeth as he placed both his hands behind his head. _

"_See you at class on Monday!"_

_Suddenly snapped out of a ramen-filled daydream, Naruto opened his eyes, turning to a scene in front of him. He noted Kiba walking into town by himself. Naruto readied himself to call out to him, but Kiba suddenly dashed into a mad sprint, taking off faster than he'd ever seen him go. Thinking indifferently about the scenario, Naruto excused the thought with a contented shrug and continued along happily – Ichiraku's was just around the corner! He dashed forwards, seeping joy throughout his system as his mind closely hung onto one thing-_

"_Oof!"_

"_Ouch!"_

_He suddenly found himself on his back, sorely snapped out of his happy daydream – and so close to having it realised! He gingerly rubbed his backside as he quickly jumped up, pointing accusedly and shouting angrily at the figure that'd been grounded along with him._

"_Hey! Why doncha watch where you're going, you big klutz! I almost broke my butt-"_

"_I-I-I'm sorry! I was just… waiting for someone, I-I didn't mean to…!"_

_Naruto softened his gaze as he quickly recognised the shy voice. As Hinata turned to meet the gaze of the offender, she quickly realised whose cerulean eyes she'd been staring into. A thick sheet of red enveloped her cheeks as words began to fail her. Naruto scrambled clumsily to her side, helping her up._

"_Oh, Hinata! Oh wow, I'm so sorry! I-I totally didn't mean it, I was just on my way to Ichiraku's, and…" Naruto quickly noticed the small smile spreading across her face after his apology, wondering why she was smiling as her cheeks began to redden rapidly. "… Wait, are you ok? You're really red! You're not sick are ya?"_

_Hinata shook her head quickly, placing a hand to her face as Naruto popped his head under her arm. Shooting her eyes forward, she tried her hardest to refrain from looking at him, embarrassingly realising what the aforementioned would cause._

"_Well, come on, I'll help you up! It's the least I can do for knocking you down like a big dummy, right?"_

_Naruto smiled charmingly as Hinata's will-power quickly sapped itself. He unknowingly brushed his cheek against hers as she trembled, lowering her eyes as a large and untameable smile quickly crept across her face._

'_N-N-N-Naruto is… he's so close! He… he's barely inches away from my… Oh! What if he k-kisses me? Oh gosh! Now, of all times? Th-th-that's s-so sudden! He's… he's…'_

_As the two found their feet, Hinata smiled as she quickly shook her head, finding the feeling in her legs rather fleeting._

'_I will NOT faint, I WILL NOT faint… I WILL NOT FAINT!' she internally screamed at herself, gathering the strength to try and stop shaking. Little success from the attempt was apparent._

"_H-Hinata! You're shaking like Choji at a buffet! Are you sure you're ok?"_

_Hinata suppressed the urge to kiss Naruto where he stood, instead opting to retrieve her arm from around Naruto and proceeding to poke her index fingers together. She couldn't believe he was so concerned about her! Maybe she should run into him more often…_

"_I… I'm fine, Naruto, really. Th-thank you…"_

_Hinata almost jumped as Naruto took her hand in his. Her spine snapped straight as a nervous smile plastered itself to her face._

"_Well how about I take you home or something? You seem really shaken up! Oh, hang on a sec – weren't you waiting for someone?"_

'_Yes I was, but now that you're here it's fine! We could go for dinner and walking and through the town and look at the stars and… and… oh, I can't say that! Maybe something subtle… something Naruto will be able to pick up on!'_

"… _Not anymore."_

_She shyly turned to him, her hand still in his as Naruto turned to her. Not knowing why, the smile slowly crept from his face. He'd actually really wanted to walk Hinata home…_

_Noting how stupid that idea sounded, he then quickly proceeded to look around dimly, scanning his surroundings. 'Is it a guy or a girl that she's waiting for? Man, what if it's Kiba? I hope it's a gi-'_

_Naruto suddenly caught himself in a strange chain of thought. Where the heck did that come from?_

"_N-Naruto?"_

_Seemingly caught off guard, Naruto flicked his head to the side, taking Hinata almost completely by surprise. Thinking of nothing else but how silly he must have looked, he quickly darted around the scenery, thankfully remembering what she'd just said._

"_O-oh, really Hinata? Oh, that's ok! I was just heading out anyway, just… ya know, going for a walk! So… where is… 'he'…?"_

_Naruto hesitated on the last part of the question as he swallowed. 'Please not Kiba, please not Kiba, please not… wait, what if it's Sasuke? Oh crap! PLEASE BE KIBA, PLEASE BE KIBA, PLEASE BE KIBA, PLEASE BE KIBA-'_

"_He's… he's right here."_

_Of course, anyone else would have immediately picked up on the signal. It was obvious to say the least. But not obvious enough for our Naruto!_

_Feeling a knot form in his stomach, Naruto embarrassingly released Hinata's hand. Of course it was a guy she was waiting for! He felt like an absolute moron. He quickly shoved his hand behind his head, rubbing it and laughing nervously._

"_Oh, geez! I-I'm sorry, Hinata! Guess I'll l-leave you two alone, then…"_

_Without so much as a second glance, Naruto quickly dashed off into town, the hot bowl of beef ramen now a fleeting and fast forgotten thought in his head. Hinata longingly reached after Naruto, wondering if she'd been too vague…_

_After a moment, she inwardly sighed. Of course he wouldn't pick up on that! The idea itself was far too vague… on the other hand, they were the only two people around! How could he NOT pick up on that? _

_She looked forlornly at the cloud of dust Naruto left in his wake as she sighed, leaning against the wooden fence just across from Ichiraku's._

His thoughts returned to the timid girl, once again poking her fingers together as he talked to her. Maybe if he had any form of courage at all, he would have asked her to go for a walk, go to dinner… or something. Anything! Instead, as soon as he thought another guy was involved, he took off up the dusty roads, leaving a cloud and a very disappointed Hinata in his wake. Wandering Konoha alone as he usually did, he began to wonder why the hell he even attempted to try for Sakura.

But what about Hinata? She was a puzzle as well! Always poking her fingers together, blushing, smiling and nervously looking away at things… and anytime she spoke, it was barely above a whisper! Naruto had no idea why he was thinking about the shy, outspoken, timid, withdrawn, pretty, caring… adorable… sweet, kind… girl…?

"… You've gone real… quiet. What's wrong?"

Naruto turned to Kiba, quickly shooting a hand behind his head and rubbing it nervously.

"Oh, n-nothing! Just, ya know, thinking about… stuff…" he said through a large smile that quickly faded as soon as Kiba shrugged and turned away from him.

'_What the hell is going on?'_ Naruto asked himself, cocking his head and closing his eyes tightly in thought. He had no idea what brought on thinking like this, but in his traditional brain-dead fashion, he decided to voice something without thinking about it. At all.

"Hey, I know!" Naruto said stupidly, slapping Kiba on the back as he released a yelp of agony. "Why don't you ask out Hinata? I think she likes you! She's always poking her fingers together whenever I see her and she's always around you."

If Naruto had paused to look at Kiba's reaction, he would have seen a look of utmost annoyance and disbelief. Instead, he continued his rambling as Kiba glumly turned away from him once again.

"Can't you see, Kiba? I'll bet she's just waiting for you to ask her out and-"

"Naruto, lemme ask you something."

"Huh?"

Naruto stared in surprise at Kiba as a look of annoyance ran across his face. He pulled out the half eaten loaf of bread that he was sharing with Akamaru, quickly elongating his nails and cutting a rather large slice from it. Returning his nails to normal, he picked up the piece of bread and flashed it across Naruto's face.

"What do you think is the difference between you and this piece of bread?"

Naruto was perplexed at the question, but answered impulsively… as usual.

"Well that's easy, Kiba! That's a piece of bread and I'm a hu-"

"The answer is 'nothing,' because you're both thick."

Once again, Naruto was confused - a situation that was starting to seem familiar to the blonde haired youth. Perplexed once again, he turned to Kiba and shouted.

"What are you talking about you weirdo! I'm not a piece of bread!"

"I did ask her out, ya dingbat," Kiba said, placing his arms behind his head and lying back down on the roof. "Believe it or not, just recently. Probably woulda been about a half hour before you showed up."

Naruto raised a brow suspiciously. He couldn't help but feel a twinge in the back of his mind.

'_What the heck was that? Why do… why do I feel all weird after hearing that he asked Hinata out?' _Naruto thought, deciding to snoop a little deeper. He forced a smile and grinned confidently, about to put forth that he was right.

"Well, see? I told ya. How'd it go? Are you gonna take her out? She said yes, didn't she?"

Kiba released a short grunt, shaking his head and then turning to Naruto.

"Nope. Turned me down."

Naruto suddenly felt relieved. He was really happy that Hinata wasn't going out with…

Wait, what?

'_What the heck is going on? Why am I so happy that Kiba isn't going out with Hinata? More importantly, why is it any of my business?'_ Naruto asked himself, silently wracking his brain._ 'Geez, anyone would think that I was jea-'_

Without meaning to, Naruto kinda hit the nail right on the head. He was _jealous_ that Kiba had asked Hinata out! He was _actually jealous!_

"Somethin' tells me you're finally putting two and two together, man."

Kiba's smarmy retort to Naruto's silence roused another impulsive response from the boy.

"Whaddaya mean? I don't know what the heck you're trying to tell me, dog-breath!"

Kiba's patience wore thin as he brought a fist down across the back of Naruto's head.

"HINATA'S GOT THE FREAKIN' HOTS FOR YOU, YA NIMROD!"

"Oww! What the heck was that f-… wait, huh?"

Kiba towered over Naruto as Akamaru once again took refuge beneath his jacket.

"Why d'ya think she's always pressing her fingers together when you talk to her? Why d'ya think she's always blushing around you? Why, Naruto, do ya think you see her almost everywhere you ALWAYS go?"

Much to Kiba's surprise, Naruto was finally putting the pieces together. Kiba's outburst had finally (and thankfully) awoken a bit of sense in the boy. He turned to Kiba, a questioning expression on his face.

"You mean… Hinata actually likes me?"

Kiba threw his hands up in mock astonishment.

"And the last horse crosses the finish line! She's liked you for ages, man! God… How the heck could you not see it?"

Naruto quickly ran through multiple scenarios with the timid girl. She always seemed to be doing exactly what Kiba had said: he constantly found her after classes and around Ichiraku's, she always blushed whenever she spoke to him, and he couldn't remember a time he'd caught her eye without pushing her fingers together at least a few times.

Quickly springing to his feet, Naruto clasped his hands around his head as a thought ran across his mind.

"… _Oh, hang on a sec – weren't you waiting for someone?"_

"… _not anymore."_

"_O-oh, really Hinata? Oh, that's ok! I was just heading out anyway, just… ya know, going for a walk! So… where is… 'he'…?"_

"_He's… he's right here."_

"OH MY GOD! SHE WAS… SHE WAS WAITING FOR ME!" Naruto exclaimed, fumbling across the roof and turning to Kiba. "W-w-what the heck should I do?"

Kiba rolled his eyes and laughed.

"Oh, come on, you gotta be kidding me, right? Get your ass over there and ask her out! I'm sure she'll still be there, probably still waiting out at Ichiraku's for ya."

Naruto jumped in a rare moment of astonishing realisation, proceeding to run in circles around the rooftop. Kiba looked on in amusement as Naruto suddenly stopped, stood still and turned towards Kiba. A sheepish grin climbed onto his face.

"… Which way to Ichiraku's from here?"

Kiba suddenly had an intensely dumbfounded look plastered on his mug. Akamaru joined the thought by releasing a low whine as Kiba half-heartedly pointed a finger in the direction of the ramen bar.

"Thanks, Kiba!"

Naruto waved a thank-you to Kiba as he took off over the rooftops, landing in the dusty street and dashing madly towards Ichiraku's. He shook his head as he watched him dash off into the distance, returning his gaze to the moon as Akamaru started on the thick slice of bread that had rolled from Kiba's hand. He found himself going through their conversations as he lay across the roof, using his hands as a make-shift pillow. As he paused on a certain part of the conversation, a smile crept onto his face.

'_Hmmm… Ino, huh?'_

His heels were practically hitting the back of his head as Naruto sprinted off towards Ichiraku's.

'_Please be there, please be there, please be there, PLEASE be there, PLEASE be THERE, PLEASE BE THERE, PLEASE BE THERE, PLEASE BE THERE, PLEASE BE THERE, PLEASE BE-'_

"N-Naruto?"

A shriek of panic echoed through the streets as Naruto tripped over his own foot, causing him to tumble and fall over himself quite a number of times. Upon repeating his face-to-floor technique for the fifth time, he found himself resting comfortably on his back, attempting to stop the world around him from spinning.

"Ah, N-Naruto! A-are you alright?"

'_That voice…'_

Naruto felt small hands lifting him up and shaking him. His head lazily swung behind his torso as he managed to blink a clear image in front of him.

"Naruto!"

"… Hinata?"

The pale-eyed girl ceased her shaking as she gasped.

"Oh, Naruto! I-I'm so sorry, I didn't think you'd fall like that, are yo-"

"Hinata!"

Naruto sprung up as Hinata jumped backwards, landing on her backside and staring up at the blonde boy. He smiled excitedly as butterflies ran around in his stomach.

"N-Naruto, what's wrong?"

"You're on the ground, that's what's wrong!" he said, laughing as he excitedly bent down to the girl's side. Taking in her reactions carefully, he saw her tiny smile, her quickly reddening cheeks and her inability to make eye contact. He almost squeaked in delight – he had never had a girl _like_ him before! His smile was uncontrollable as he once again found his way under her arm, lifting her off the ground. She quickly withdrew her arm and dusted herself off, shyly pressing her fingers together again.

"Th-thank you, Naruto. Are… are you ok?" she asked timidly, quickly darting to his eyes. Naruto released a huge smile, quickly placing his hand behind his head nervously.

"Yeah, I'm fine… ummm…"

Hinata stopped poking her fingers together and brushed her hair back from her face. She turned to Naruto, looking at his face as he squirmed.

"Are you sure, y-you look sort of… oh! I know, you were going t-to Ichiraku's weren't you?"

An idea suddenly popped into Naruto's head. He lowered his arm, placing it into his pocket.

"Yeah, actually. Sasuke, Sakura and I just got back from a mission, so…" he pulled Gama-chan, Naruto's tiny frog-shaped wallet, out of his pocket. "Gama-chan's pretty full. I was just gonna head straight to Ichiraku's, but then I thought of something."

'_Oh, no,'_ Hinata panicked, _'I made Naruto forget about his dinner! He must be starving! I've got to-'_

"I had a chance to talk to that guy you were waiting for," he said, replacing Gama-chan in his pocket.

Hinata's eyes widened. Immediately lowering her eyes and looking away, an extremely panicked look washed over her as she pointed her fingers together furiously.

'_He… he DID know what I meant! I… oh my, I'm so embarrassed… but… what is he-'_

Naruto leaned down to catch her eyes, still smiling.

"He wanted to apologise for running off and he wants to know if you-"

Realising how stupid he sounded referring to himself in such a way, Naruto corrected his posture, cleared his throat and smiled confidently at the intensely blushing heiress.

"-the truth is, _I_ wanted to apologise for running off… and _I_ want to know if… ummm…"

Hinata suddenly received an intense moment of déjà vu. She remembered back to her earlier conversation with Kiba, and her heart fluttered.

'_N-N-N-Naruto is… h-he is… w-we are… he's… we're… I-I'm…'_

Naruto took her hand and pointed off to Ichiraku's in the distance.

"… Hinata, do you wanna go out to dinner with me?"

Her fluttering heart stopped as history was doomed to repeat itself.

"You… want to have dinner… with me?"

Naruto nodded, placing a hand behind his head and laughing nervously.

"Yeah, I do. A-a-and I can even pay for you!" he said excitedly, patting his pocket. "I'm sure Gama-chan won't mind."

Hinata's face turned as red as Sakura's outfit.

'… _he… wants… he wants to… pay? This is… THIS IS…!'_

"… like… like a… d-date?"

Naruto's smile remained as he tugged at her hand. She found her feet moving of their own accord, walking towards the ramen stand as she smiled gently, looking towards her crush. She smiled as well, wide enough to show her teeth as she happily wrapped her arms around Naruto's arm. Naruto turned to her, smiling as they continued to Ichiraku's. A thought occurred to Hinata and, while ecstatic, she looked up at Naruto.

"Y-you don't have t-to pay, N-Naruto. I-I have a little money…" she said softly, shyly reaching into the pocket of her lavender coat. Naruto laughed and shook his head.

"Nah, it's alright. Besides – you'll have to get used to it if you're going to be my girlfriend."

'Girlfriend.'

'_Girlfriend.'_

'**_Girlfriend.'_**

'**_Girlfriend.'_**

The word echoed in Hinata's head as she stopped where she was. Naruto felt a tug at his arm as he turned, meeting Hinata's eyes.

"Hinata?"

The poor girl nearly suffered heart failure as she became a proverbial tomato. Her eyes were wide and staring directly out in front of her. Naruto looked worriedly towards her as she spoke.

"…d-d-did y-you just… say… I-I'm g-going to b-b-be y-your…"

Hinata swallowed as an irrevocable smile graced her timid features. Naruto raised a brow.

"…g-g-girlfriend?"

Naruto smiled once more.

"Well, yeah! I wouldn't have asked you out if I didn't want you to be my girlfriend!"

An ecstatic red blur passed Naruto as Hinata fell lifelessly to the dusty road, her eyes spinning as an over-joyed smile was spread across her visage. Naruto's mouth swung wide open as a horrified yelp left his lips, quickly ducking to the pale girl's side.

"Hi-Hinata? HINATA?"

* * *

Bit of a cuter one, written with the anime-style in mind. Have a bit of a laugh, people ;)

Good writing to all!

_**LS.**_


	2. 2: Blush, Faint, Rinse, Repeat

"Wait, so Kiba had to tell him?"

"That's right. It's kinda strange, though – if Kiba could tell, then you'd think Naruto would at least have had _some_ idea, right?"

Anko and Kakashi had found some spare time between missions. Opting for a well-deserved break at Anko's favourite café, the conversation quickly turned to the newest Genin couple on Konoha. Kakashi released a docile laugh as he flicked a sly wink towards Anko.

"Not a lot gets into Naruto's head… at least, not a lot about anything other than ramen or becoming the Hokage."

Anko laughed, happily sipping her cup of coffee as Kakashi flicked through another page of one of his "Icha Icha" books. Anko smiled, shrugging off the thought.

"Well, you can only help 'em so much, I suppose," she said, releasing a titter, "but damn it'll be good to have a little entertainment over the next few weeks! Wouldn't you say, Mister 'Icha'?"

Kakashi raised his brows suddenly, surprised by Anko's comment as he quickly held his hands up in defence.

"O-oh, yeah! Definitely! I mean, not that I have nothing else to… ummm, well, to do…" he replied half-heartedly, looking back to the book in his hands. Anko hummed a response, quickly changing the position of her legs to cross over at her knees.

"Busy schedule, huh?" Anko mused, looking over her cup towards Kakashi as she took a very sly sip. Kakashi suddenly felt himself swallow a lump in his throat as he noticed Anko's eyes for the first time that day. Really noticed them… her light brown, subtly sexy eyes, gently watching his every move from their heavenly perch upon her gentle cheek bones… her slender and toned figure, teasing him to explore deeper into the realm that is _Anko Mitarashi_…

"… or you could just stare at me all day, because that's cool, too?"

Snapping out of his 'Icha Icha' daydream and realising how perverted he was sounding, Kakashi quickly closed the book with a loud clap. Thankfully, because of his face mask, Anko couldn't see how pink he was turning.

"Yeah, yeah I could… ah! I mean, uh, yes! Yes, I do have a busy… schedule…"

'_Damnit, Jiraiya! Why do you have to describe the female body so vividly? How can any man keep his thoughts straight after reading your books?'_

"You could, huh?" she laughed as she closed her eyes, locking her fingers together and pushing her palms skyward. A few small cracks were heard as the Jonin stretched her back and, inadvertently, pushed her chest out. Once again finding himself leering over her fantastic figure, Kakashi allowed his thoughts to run impromptu for just a little while longer. Surely, she wouldn't notice.

"That'll cost you lunch, you know."

… or so he thought.

As Kakashi's eyes suddenly burst straight open in panic, Anko completed her stretch, allowing her arms to fall gracefully to her side as she lolled her head to the left, slowly and sensually opening her eyes.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Kakashi stuttered, finding himself unable to keep his eyes off of the woman. She stretched her neck slightly, turning to Kakashi and unintentionally offering him a not-so-innocent glance at her cleavage. Quickly repositioning herself as she noticed his eyes slip for barely a second, she let slip a mock-gasp.

"Kakashi Hatake! A true gentlemen never ganders at a lady in such ways!" she said, acting rather over-dramatically as she was clearly enjoying the crushing embarrassment that Kakashi was enduring. "However, should you appease my hunger for affection with splendours of only the most desirable delicacies, I'm sure I can forgive such a lecherous act…"

A cheeky smile that suited her far too well crawled onto her features as she winked at the grey-haired Jonin. Kakashi was proud, but he'd still admit when he'd been caught. With a heavy sigh, he bowed his head, closing his eyes in defeat.

"Very well, lunch is on me," Kakashi grumbled reluctantly, once again stuffing his nose in his book. Anko giggled teasingly, seemingly pleased with his suffering. She finished her coffee with a smack of her lips, turned to him and then leaned playfully on the counter.

"So, what do you feel like?" she sang, smiling as she amused herself with his facial features. Kakashi met her brown eyes once more, hopelessly falling into them again.

"I… could really use… some Anko…" he said dreamily, once again not listening to himself OR thinking clearly. She raised a brow.

"Some 'Anko', huh?" she teased, still smiling towards him as he blushed once again.

"D-d-dango! I mean Anko Dango! No, Mitarashi, I meant! I want Mitarashi… AH! Mitarashi dango, that is! I… uh…" he blabbered, desperately trying to save himself as Anko found it almost too hard to keep her laughter dormant. Turning to him almost teary-eyed, she let a small laugh escape her lips before turning to him, leaning adorably on her interlocked fingers.

"So, you wanna little 'Anko' dango with a bit of 'Mitarashi' on the side, sweetie?" she trilled, smirking and winking at the Jonin who prominently whacked his head on the counter of the coffee shop. A muffled groan escaped him as he refused to face the aggravatingly suggestive Jonin.

"It's not my fault that you're practically named after a dish…" he whispered loudly, anxious to change the subject but seemingly unable to.

"An incredible dish named after a dish. Coincidence? You be the judge, tiger."

Another prick of embarrassment hiked its way up Kakashi's back as he despairingly turned to Anko who, not one to let humiliation down easy, clawed teasingly towards Kakashi whilst making a 'purring' sound. Placing his hands together in a praying position and releasing a hysterical and high-pitched laugh of embarrassment, Kakashi practically begged her to cease and desist.

"Let's… let's just forget this happened and go get you some dango, shall we?"

Quickly standing and placing her hands on her hips, she nodded towards the hesitant Jonin.

"Thought you'd never ask. Come on, let's go - this dish is huuuuungry!"

As she quickly turned and walked towards the door, Kakashi found his eyes once again coveting her form. As he placed his book in his pocket and watched her stand expectantly at the door with her hands on her hips, he was smart enough not to voice a thought before quickly moving towards her.

'And what a dish she is…'

Anko slyly winked back towards Kakashi, taking him by surprise.

"Hey, if you hurry up, dessert's on me."

After faced with images of what can only be described as a 'Chocolate Anko Sundae', Kakashi gracefully disembarked from his chair and prominently familiarised himself with the hard stone floor.

* * *

"Hey Ino!"

The hyperactive youth found his way into Ino's family flower shop, turning in all directions and taking in the vast array of colours and smells. Ino waved from behind the counter, smiling casually as she fussed about with some decorative supplies.

"Hey there, Naruto. What brings you here?" she asked coolly, knowing perfectly well why the blonde-haired Genin was browsing the flowers. He blushed, turning to her with a wide smile and quickly placing a hand on the back of his head.

"Oh, uh… n-nothing special. Just wanna… ya know, look at some flowers…"

Ino shrugged, turning disinterestedly from the boy and back to her decorative paraphernalia.

"Oh, ok, that's fine. By the way, I know her favourite flower, and it's not over there," she said slyly, shooting him a subtle side-glance. Within a second, Naruto had burst to the counter and was desperately pleading with the girl.

"Alright, already! I'm hopeless at this stuff and I need to get the right flowers because I'm not a moron anymore and have found out that Hinata likes me and I _need to make her like me because I like her so to do that I need a flower that is as pretty as her but it won't be as pretty as her because-_"

Ino flailed her arms worriedly, approaching the frantically babbling ninja as he was slowly turning purple and making quite a literal song-and-dance about the whole thing.

"Geez, Naruto! Take a freakin' breath already! You're talking gibberish!" she demanded, placing her hands on either side of the boy's cheeks and quickly shaking them side to side. Naruto quickly took a breath in, locking eyes with the blonde haired girl as she raised her brows. He blinked, released a very deep sigh and then returned worriedly to Ino.

"So… I take it you already know, huh?" he asked half-heartedly, pouting as she released his cheeks and placed a hand on her hips.

"Ah-huh, I do, and congratulations! You basically scored the hottest babe in Konoha – well, you know, besides me," came Ino's quirky reply, holding up a 'peace' sign and winking. Naruto looked at her glumly, preparing a signature absent-minded response that he'd soon wish had remained unspoken.

"… Hinata's prettier."

Yeah, you know that little voice that tells people important things, like 'You probably shouldn't say that to Ino' or 'Playing 'chicken' with a freight train probably isn't a healthy idea'? Naruto apparently doesn't have one.

Ino's head seemed to almost quadruple in size as she towered above the cowering Naruto, teeth bared and waving her arms about ridiculously. If she could have spouted flames…

"NARUTO YOU BONEHEAD! YOU DON'T JUST INSULT SOMEONE WHO'S WILLING TO HELP YOU WITH POSSIBLY THE GREATEST ROMANCE STORY OF THIS CENTURY! DO YOU WANT MY HELP TO GET THIS GIRL OR NOT?" she screamed hysterically, pointing threateningly from behind the counter. Ino never did like to lose, and coming in second place to _anyone_ hardly seemed like her idea of a good time. Naruto quickly placed his hands together, bowing repeatedly towards the furious girl.

"Ah, I'm sorry Ino! You're very pretty! Really pretty! I mean it, really! Prettiest in all of Konoha! _PLEASE_ help me pick some flowers for Hinata! You know I suck at this stuff!" he quickly babbled, desperate to re-enter her good books. Appearing to have been successful, as Ino's ego was now seemingly itched to her satisfaction, she immediately calmed down and smirked.

"Now, that's a bit better, isn't it?" she replied, happily smiling from the counter as she quickly turned and headed to her left. Naruto was smart enough to withhold from voicing his next statement.

'_Man, she's just about as crazy as Sakura!'_

Barely taking any time at all, Ino returned quickly from the store-room, holding a single white lily with a slight purple colouration just around the petals. She'd wrapped a lilac ribbon around the short cut stem and sprayed some water over the petals. He had to hand it to the girl – it looked awesome!

"First things first, Naruto!" exclaimed the exuberant blue-eyed girl, gently trimming around the flower and stem. "With Hinata, most of the time she's very much a 'less-is-more' kinda girl. So, instead of a bouquet, I'm just gonna give you one flower for today. Trust me; she'll love it, alright? Now, do you know what this is?"

Naruto quickly darted between the flower and Ino. He seemed happy to receive the information about Hinata, but Ino could tell that he was waging a tumultuous internal battle - he couldn't tell whether this was a test or just a silly question and, being Naruto, he answered for the latter.

"… it's a flower."

Ino's eyes narrowed as her vacant expression clearly wanted to have another explosive rant. She took a deep breath in and slowly pointed a finger to the flower.

"This is a lavender-brushed White Calla Lily. _These_ are Hinata's absolute favourite. She's got a load of flowers pressed somewhere, but she _never_ presses these ones. She loves them, and every boyfriend should make it a top priority to remember their girlfriend's favourite flower. So," Ino paused, clearing her throat and waving the flower in front of Naruto, "again. Naruto, do you know what this is?"

Naruto quickly slammed some money down on the bench and took the flower from Ino, bolting towards the door.

"It's Hinata's favourite flower! She's _definitely_ gonna be my girlfriend now!"

"W-wait! Don't run so fast, you'll wreck it!"

Naruto skidded to a halt just short of the door. Happy that he was going to take her advice, Ino smiled and called.

"Walk carefully, alright? It's a delicate flower, just like Hinata!"

Naruto turned back, smiling and nodding, then continued slowly to the door. Ino couldn't help but look forlornly after the boy, leaning on the bench and day-dreaming.

'_Maybe one day someone will buy a flower for me… maybe even Kiba! Oh, I'd cut it just perfectly, then he'd… wait, I'd cut my own flower? Ah, what do I care? It'd be OUR flower! The first flower a boy's ever bought for me…'_

Naruto suddenly stopped, quickly remembering something that he was sure Ino would be happy to hear.

"Oh yeah, by the way Ino!"

He turned and walked a few steps back towards the blue-eyed girl who looked on inquisitively, raising a questioning brow.

"I'm sure just one flower will win her over, Naruto. It's a really good one," she assured with a smile, but another flower clearly wasn't Naruto's intention. He looked around cautiously before slanting his eyes and lowering his tone to a faint whisper.

"I hear Kiba thinks you're really pretty and _way_ outta his league. He told me while we were talking the other day."

Ino turned an unhealthy shade of bright red as her eyes almost burst out of her head. Naruto smiled widely once more and then began a maddening dash towards the entrance.

"See-ya Ino, and thanks again for the flower!"

Naruto dashed out of the flower shop as Ino suddenly found the floor, her legs kicking up as her eyes swirled in a daydream of dark hair, puppies and petunias.

* * *

Naruto raced through the streets, hoping to find Hinata at her usual spot, just outside of Konoha. At that exact moment, he remembered what Ino had said about ruining the flower. He once again skidded to a halt, plastering a disgruntled look on his face – Naruto was never known for his patience, but he desperately wanted the flower to survive the trip. Holding it gently, he began to somewhat begrudgingly walk, allowing himself at least a quick stride every now and then. Walking past his beloved Ichiraku's, he allowed himself a quick side-glance and promised a stop in on his way back. It was then that he caught sight of a female ninja wearing a long light-brown trench coat making her way through the town, with some kind of… 'something' over her shoulder. Naruto was sure he knew who she was and, upon said presumption, decided to call loudly after her.

"Hey, Anko!"

Anko stopped, surprised by the voice, and quickly turned around. Upon catching her eye and waving, Naruto excitedly made his way towards her. The Jonin smiled at the young boy, noting the flower held safely in his hand.

"Well hey there, short stuff! How ya doin'?" she chimed happily, eyeing the decorated flower once more. He quickly smiled, lifting the flower to her.

"I'm great, just on my way to give this to-"

Suddenly realising that Anko was carrying a 'some-one', not a 'some-thing', he turned to her side as he noted the light grey hair of Kakashi's head hanging somewhere around her lower back. Raising a brow and returning to her still smiling face, Naruto pointed strangely at Kakashi.

"Anko, why are you holding Kakashi-sensei like that?"

Anko smirked.

"Can you keep a secret, Naruto?" she said, slanting her eyes and crouching down next to him, covering her mouth with her hand. Naruto looked cautiously around, slanting his eyes and leaning closer.

"You bet I can," he whispered as she watched the undeniable smile etching at the corner of his mouth. She laughed, shifted Kakashi over her shoulder and then smiled widely at the young Genin.

"We're about to go and have 'dessert'," she said slyly, a threatening glint in her eye. Naruto quickly darted his eyes to Kakashi, then to Anko, still noting the threatening sensuality she emitted.

"… well, that's not much of a secret, but I'll keep it, Anko!" he said proudly, giving her a 'thumbs up' then turning back towards his flower. "Oh, by the way, you haven't seen Hinata anywhere, have you?"

Anko quickly stood, nodding to the young boy as she pointed off towards the entrance.

"I saw her heading to the left of the entrance," she said, as she returned her eyes to the young boy. "Say, this wouldn't have anything to do with the Calla Lily, would it?"

Naruto nodded, smiling widely and pushing the flower in her face again.

"It sure does! I'm gonna ask her to be my girlfriend! For real, this time!"

Anko laughed as Naruto quickly strode off towards the entrance, being careful not to damage the flower he held so dearly. Anko smiled contentedly, looking towards the entrance.

"Funny, I thought asking the girl out was supposed to come _before_ the first date…"

"Just like lunch is supposed to come before dessert…"

Anko's eyes widened as she turned to the now-moving mass in her shoulder. She laughed happily as Kakashi finally stirred.

"Well, I wanted dessert first. Good to see you back on your feet, Kakashi," she sang, happily setting him down as he placed a hand over his forehead.

"Ugh, I wish I could say it _feels_ good to be back on my feet," he said sluggishly, rubbing his hand on the back of his head.

"And here I was, thinking I'd have to drag you halfway across Konoha," she said slyly as the gears in her mind began to turn.

"Well, I'm glad that you don't have to. Might have been a little embarrassing on my part," said Kakashi, laughing nervously and then straightening up. "Now, who's going out with whom?"

Suddenly sparking an interest in her eyes, Anko turned to the weary Jonin.

"Say, whaddaya think about heading after him?" she asked quickly, turning to the direction that Naruto had recently sped off in. Kakashi followed her gaze, narrowed his eyes and then quickly returned to her.

"Who?"

"Naruto."

"… why?"

Anko grabbed Kakashi's hand and began screaming towards the entrance, dragging a bewildered and screaming Kakashi behind her.

"A-A-ANKO! WH-WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING? WHY ARE WE AFTER NARUTO?" Kakashi called to her as she tore towards the entrance as fast as she could, laughing as an ecstatic (and borderline insane) smile slapped itself across her face.

"I've been waiting for _years_ to see this happen! You think I'm gonna miss it?"

Kakashi finally found his footing, quickly running after here, still confused and disorientated as to what was going on.

"Miss what?"

Anko turned to him, smiling a little too excitedly.

"Naruto's gonna ask Hinata to be his girlfriend!"

Kakashi's eyes widened as he locked his gaze intently with Anko's.

"Are you serious?"

She nodded triumphantly.

"He just told me then!"

Kakashi burst forward, whipping Anko into his arms as she released a squeak of shock.

"I know where they'll be! What are we waiting for?"

Prominently holding her close to his chest as she looped her arms around his neck, he sped off towards the entrance faster than Anko thought he was capable of.

"Geez, you're more excited than I am!" she trilled happily. Kakashi smiled charmingly, even though it remained hidden behind his mask.

"I've wanted the girl to tell Naruto since he started training with Iruka! I constantly talk about them with Kurenai. We've placed bets on when they're going to finally get together!"

Kakashi took to the rooftops, nimbly leaping from house to house as Anko laughed.

"Bets, huh? When did you bet they'd be together?"

"Before the exams!"

She laughed expectantly, brushing her hair out of her eyes as she turned to Kakashi, unable to stop herself admiring his physical prowess.

"You know, you're pretty energetic for not having eaten all day," she pondered aloud, darting her eyes from his chest to his face. He shrugged.

"I've gone longer… but now that you mention it, some Mitarashi would really hit the spot."

She laughed proudly, raising her brows.

"Keep talking like that and maybe she will."

* * *

Naruto continued his pattern of 'walk-walk-nervous jog, walk-walk-nervous jog' all the way to the rocky waterfall that Hinata frequented, just a few minutes out of Konoha. Hoping that she'd be there so he could finally ask Hinata to be his girlfriend, his REAL girlfriend, he quickly noticed the butterflies dancing around in his stomach again. He placed a hand over his stomach as his head began to feel lighter.

'_Awww man! There it is again! What is that? I hope I'm not coming down with something! Not just before I'm about to tell-'_

Naruto's thought pattern was brought to an abrupt halt as he unknowingly paraded into the pool of water. He'd reached the waterfall faster than he thought he would, taking him quickly by surprise. Thinking of sparing nothing on himself but the flower that he'd bought for Hinata, he hoisted it quickly above his head and met the water bravely in order to protect it. Finding the bottom of the shallow pool, he quickly pushed himself up to a standing position. Spouting a couple of gallons of water from his mouth, he released a less-than-happy sigh. His white and orange shirt was soaked, along with his dark pants and sandals. Thinking the worst, he slowly turned to the flower, only to be pleasantly greeted by the white lily, still standing proud and glistening in his grasp. While the rest of him remained soaked, his spirit soared as a smile once again found his features.

"Well, that's a relief. Now I'm _really_ glad that I went with a flower and not a cinnamon roll!" he pondered aloud to himself, looking up at the bright sun and relaxing into a warm smile. The sun felt fantastic on his face. It had been so long since he'd just relaxed underneath its gentle rays…

But enough about that! Naruto had important business to attend to! Turning back to the lily in his hand, he nodded jubilantly.

"Right! Now to find-"

"N-Naruto?"

"What? No! I want to find… oh! Hinata!"

Naruto turned to the rocky walls next to the waterfall. Hinata had stationed herself at the edge of the pool, dangling her feet in the cool water underneath the plentiful shade offered by the surrounding trees. The timid eyes of the Hyuga heiress fell upon her crush as he locked eyes with her. Giving a quick wave, he waded towards her, smiling proudly as he ducked the lily behind his back.

"I thought I h-heard someone. H-how are you, Naruto?" she asked, quickly averting her eyes and poking her index fingers together. It was then that Naruto noticed that Hinata wasn't wearing her usual attire. She'd opted for a black skin-tight shirt and knee-length cream pants. Naruto quickly looked her up and down as she blushed, darting to and from the eyes of her beloved.

"Wh-what's wrong, N-Naruto?" she asked anxiously, starting to go her signature shade of crimson. Naruto shook his head and quickly placed a hand behind his head.

"Oh, nothing! I just… I'm just not used to seeing you… like this…"

"L-like this?" Hinata repeated, wondering what Naruto meant. _'Does he not like the way I look? Have I… does he think it's unattractive? Is it too revealing? O-oh! What, is he… is Naruto… perving on me? Oh, gosh! Where is he looking? At my chest? My stomach? My bottom?'_

While Hinata's thoughts ran amuck, Naruto quickly remembered the lily in his hands.

"Oh, nothing bad! You look great, Hinata, but that's not important - I've got something for you," he said, keeping his hand behind his back. The poor girl blushed as she smiled, shaking her head at the smiling blonde's words.

"Y-you don't have to buy me things, N-Naruto," she said through an ever-growing smile. _'I can't believe it! First a date, now presents! Could this day get any better?'_

"Sure I do! I like seeing you smile, and everyone likes presents!" he said happily, smiling widely and bring his arm around to the front. Hinata's smile quickly faded as she drew in a quick breath, clasping her hand over her mouth. _'That's… THAT'S…'_

"Since our date a few days ago, I kinda… well, I've been thinking about you, a lot," he nervously admitted, lowering his gaze and shuffling about in the shallow water. Hinata's smile grew beyond the cover of her small hands as her cheeks burned red, quickly surveying the petals of the flower. Naruto swallowed loudly and, finally gaining the courage to look Hinata in the eyes, lifted his gaze to hers.

"Well, I found out that you really like these flowers and they really remind me of you, so I bought you one!"

Naruto handed the flower to the girl as her heart beat intensely, thumping itself almost out of the poor girl's chest. Hinata gently reached a hand forward as Naruto approached her from the water, resting his chest against her knees. She quickly inhaled, accidently slipping forward and grabbing Naruto's arm instead of the flower. Meeting the Genin's cerulean gaze, panic quickly cloaked her being as she trembled gently to his touch. Smiling and thinking nothing of it, Naruto decided to finally ask Hinata what he'd originally intended since the start of the day.

"So, I know we kinda did this backwards Hinata, but I guess, I really wanted to see you today, because I wanna ask you something."

Hinata froze in his gaze, her cheeks suddenly on fire. A shiver travelled up her spine, paralysing her momentarily as her eyes widened, darting from his lips to his eyes with only one prominent thought on her mind:

'_OH MY GOD, NARUTO! HE'S GOING TO…  
HE'S GOING TO KISS ME! NARUTO'S GOING TO KISS ME!  
HINATA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DON'T YOU __**DARE**__ FAINT!  
KISS HIM! DON'T FAINT, KISS HIM! DON'T FAINT, KISS HIM! DON'T FAINT, KISS HIM, DON'T FAINT, KISS HIM DON'T FAINT KISS HIM DON'T FAINT KISS HIM DON'T FAINT KISSHIMDON'TFAINTKISSHIMDON'TFAINTKISSHIMDON'TFAINT-'_

Hinata closed her eyes and leaned towards Naruto, who was happily smiling with his eyes also closed, blissfully unaware of what Hinata was thinking. As she leaned ever closer, she waited to be greeted, finally, by the touch of her crush's soft lips… to _finally _feel her first kiss!

Unfortunately for poor Hinata, she was snapped out of her day-dream by Naruto placing a finger gently against her lips. Her eyes shot open, darting from the flower, to Naruto's eyes, to his lips, to his eyes, to his lips and finally back to his eyes once more. A cheeky grin was plastered on his face as he leaned closer to her.

"First things first, Hinata!" he said, taking her hand off his arm and placing it around his hand so they were both holding the flower. "This is the first present I've ever given a girl, so… well, make sure you look after it!"

She was somewhat disheartened, but still happy enough to be in his company. And he'd brought her a lavender-brushed White Calla Lily – that was her _absolute favourite!_ She squeaked out a tiny laugh as she happily looked the flower up and down.

"It's… it's beautiful, Naruto. Th-thank you so much…" she said softly, attempting to pull the flower from his hands. Upon finding she couldn't take it from his grip, she met his eyes again, almost confused.

"Well, you see, Hinata, you only get the flower if you answer my question!" he said, still keeping his mischievous smile firmly on his face. Hinata playfully rolled her eyes and smiled wide, showing her teeth – a smile that Naruto was quickly becoming infatuated with.

"Wh-what did you w-want to ask me, Naruto?" she said as she playfully folded her legs around his waist. He smiled and placed his free hand gently on her thigh, to which she nervously tittered. What followed, however, drained every laugh from her system.

"Hinata, will you be my girlfriend?"

The colour left Hinata's cheeks as she locked eyes with Naruto, who was still smiling excitedly. Keeping a smile just as prevalent on her own face, Hinata swayed gently upon the question, as if she was giving it thought. The flower suddenly became a distant memory as her body fell towards Naruto, accidently placing her chest directly onto the stunned Genin's face as the lily was thrown on to the rocks. The two Genin fell into the pool as a very flustered Naruto desperately began fighting for the surface.

"HAHA! I KNEW IT! I told you she'd faint, and look at that! Out cold and already gave the kid more than he bargained for!"

Anko and Kakashi had perched themselves in a nearby tree, happily watching the events unfold as Naruto began dragging Hinata's lifeless body to the edge of the pool, frantically trying to wake her up.

"Well, I can guarantee that this day will hold a very fond memory for Naruto, wouldn't you agree?" Kakashi said amusedly, watching the hyperactive Genin suddenly begin to prepare Hinata for CPR.

"Oh my god, he's not, is he? He… Haha, he is! He's giving her mouth-to-mouth!" Anko called, busting a gut laughing as Naruto began to blow air into her mouth. Like clockwork, Hinata snapped her eyes open, bolted upright and turned to Naruto, realising what had just happened. Managing to stay upright for a grand total of one smile from Naruto, she deftly fell backwards as the panicked blonde flailed his arms about wildly. Kakashi joined Anko in sharing a laugh at the expense of the young Shinobi.

"This is certainly going to be the talk of the town. Won't Hiashi be surprised?" he mused, turning to Anko who smiled and nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yeah. I'll bet he'll be _really_ surprised," she said, watching Naruto finally give up and stretch himself out, laying himself down next to Hinata. "Awww, two peas in a pod!"

Kakashi nodded, smiling at the two Genin who were now resting peacefully by the small waterfall.

"Yes they are. Speaking of peas and pods, I'm fairly sure that it's time I shouted lunch. Wouldn't you agree?"

Kakashi leapt from the tree onto the ground, prompting Anko to do the same. Before Kakashi could walk too far, however, Anko quickly grabbed his arm. Kakashi turned to her, mildly taken aback.

"No, I wouldn't agree, Kakashi," she said, quickly pulling him down onto the forest floor besides the tree. Before he had time to react, she quickly placed her body over his, pinning his arms and legs to the floor. Sweat quickly beaded onto his forehead as Kakashi's eyes widened, darting all over Anko's face which suddenly was mere inches from his own.

"Wh-why wouldn't you agree, A-Anko?" he stuttered as she moulded her body to his, sparking a fire that neither would soon forget. She playfully shrugged, pushing her chest to his.

"Didn't you hear me before, Kakashi?" she teased, gently tracing her arms up his sides as she snaked a finger over the top of his face mask, pulling it gently down as she fiercely met his lips with her own. He quickly inhaled as her touch forced a shudder through the Jonin. She broke from his lips, smirking teasingly as she leaned to his ears, her voice barely a whisper and her breath feathering across his neck:

"I said I wanted dessert first."

* * *

Ooo, that's raunchy! ;)

The next chapter's gonna be more NaruHina based, and hopefully more from Hinata's point of view :D

R 'n' R, boys and girls! Hope you enjoy, and good writing to all!

_**LS.**_


	3. 3: A bad habit

**Bit of a shorter one, but still cute, I assure you ^-^**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Hinata sat underneath the cool shade near the waterfall that she (and ever so recently, Naruto) frequented. Deciding to spend some time away from Konoha on a break between missions, she happily fumbled with the flower in her hair – the very same flower Naruto had given her only yesterday. She'd cut and preserved it as best she could so it could be worn above her ear, and she honestly didn't mind walking through town, showing it off to her girlfriends who were only too happy to shower her with questions.

"_Have you kissed him yet?"_

"_Has he kissed YOU yet?"_

"_Did he ask you out?"_

"_What's he like?"_

"_Do you think it's serious?"_

She giggled girlishly as she shook her head, butterflies welling up inside her as she fondly thought of her crush…

'_Mh-mh-mh! Not just a crush anymore! Naruto asked me to be… his girlfriend!'_

She released a squeal of excitement as she still attempted to come to grips with the fact that Naruto Uzumaki had finally asked her out. Granted she'd passed out afterwards, but upon waking to his eyes, a prominent 'yes' had left her lips as he smiled from ear to ear.

'_That smile… that cheeky, cheeky smile!'_

"Hinata!"

She quickly ducked out of view, smiling and closing her eyes. Hiding from him was something she'd become increasingly good at – what with how many times she'd followed him around town simply waiting for an opportunity to talk to him, she could practically walk right behind the boy without him noticing!

"Hinata?"

He was attempting to find her. Since they'd gone out for dinner almost a week ago, they'd seen each other every day to 'hang out' for at least a few hours after the end of training. She giggled quietly, edging towards the tree that she'd coveted as her camouflage to peer across the pool towards her boyfriend. He lazily placed his hands behind his head, looking from side to side.

"Awww man, I was _sure_ she'd be here! Ah well, maybe Anko knows where she is?"

She watched him turn towards the entrance, walking slowly as he looked to the sky, hands still on the back of his head. His jumpsuit practically shone in the sunlight, 'forcing' the Hyuga heiress to admire him for just a little longer. As she was about to call out to him, he suddenly disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Taken by surprise, she took a step forward.

"Found ya."

She shrieked as she turned around quickly, closing her eyes and drawing chakra into her fingers as she aimed a strike for the victims most prominent chakra point – the temple - intending to knock them out cold. Unfortunately, for poor Naruto, she succeeded.

"Ooo…" was all that left the boys mouth before he prominently fell backwards, sprawling himself on the ground. Hinata quickly opened her eyes, realised that their standard situation had been reversed and rushed to his side, kneeling next to him.

"O-o-oh m-my goodness! N-Naruto! A-are you o-ok? N-NARUTO, S-SAY SOMETHING!"

"Hahaha, I'm fine, Hinata!"

Once again surprised by Naruto vanishing in a puff of smoke, she leaned back, turning to the new voice. Naruto was leaning happily against a tree, that mischievous smile she so dearly loved plastered across his face. As a prankster, he'd learned the hard way when to and when to not be seen. After he'd learned the 'Shadow Clone' jutsu, he'd begun incorporating the technique into almost every practical joke to date. She stood up, releasing a sigh and folding her arms.

"Y-you really scared m-me, you know!" she said, attempting to act grumpy, although the small smile that she couldn't keep from her face made it rather unconvincing. Naruto placed both hands behind his head as he laughed.

"I know, I wanted to! That's why I tricked you… twice! Hahaha, you should have seen your face when you thought you knocked me out!" he teased, poking a finger towards her as she rolled her eyes and walked towards him, poking her fingers together and averting her gaze from his.

"Well, I-I thought I'd hurt you," she said innocently, darting from her fingers to his eyes, "but… this one's the real you, right?"

Naruto's smile slowly faded as the timid girl approached him, nervously catching his gaze over and over again. He released a nervous laugh as he looked her up and down, suddenly feeling butterflies well in his stomach as he stepped away from the tree.

"Y-yeah, this one's the real… me… why?" he asked hesitantly, almost wanting to take a step backwards. Hinata advanced further towards him, blushing gently as she lifted her gaze to meet his eyes. She seemed just as jittery as he was…

"Really? A-are you…"

Naruto's eyes widened as she stopped just before him, rising to her toes and leaning her face towards him. She stopped just inches from his face, almost touching his nose with hers.

"… sure?"

Naruto swallowed nervously as he squeaked a laugh. Hinata closed her eyes, easing her hands from his stomach up to his chest. Naruto managed to remain somewhat calm on the outside while internally having a panic attack.

'_Oh god! Hi-Hinata's so close to me! Is… is she gonna kiss me? NOW? Of all times! Gosh, that's… that's so sudden! What if… what if she doesn't like it? What if _I_ don't like it? Oh, crap! She's almost… at my…'_

"Y-y-yeah… i-it's the r-real m-me, alright…"

Hinata suddenly opened her eyes, smiled and winked.

"Good."

Taken aback as his view suddenly turned into the bright blue sky, Naruto released a shout of surprise as Hinata pushed him backwards, sending the flabbergasted blonde into the crystal clear body of water behind him. Quickly surfacing with a large breath and coughing a few times, he pouted as he turned around, focusing on a giggling Hinata.

"… cheap shot," he mumbled, fruitlessly splashing water towards her, unable to even reach the edge that she stood on. She smiled and laughed, placing her hands behind her black shirt and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Awww, I'm sorry Naruto…" she chimed, shooting him an innocent look, to which he responded with a smirk and wink.

"You're gonna regret that."

Hinata was swiftly scooped up into a shadow clone's arms. She screamed excitedly as the clone jumped as high as he could into the air, right above the water. Hinata would have been fine with this – except that the clone that carried her suddenly disappeared. Even a fake Naruto holding her held _some_ kind of comfort! Shrieking as she flailed her arms wildly, the real Naruto quickly leapt from the pool, catching her in his arms as they now both plummeted towards the water. Feeling the presence of fear suddenly melting away, Hinata found the courage to open her eyes. In that moment – that one fleeting moment – Hinata caught the azure gaze of her beloved and glimpsed an eternity of laughter, happiness and the two of them, always together.

A fleeting dream of forever…

She latched onto him as they fell, seeming to fall forever as a smile replaced the apparent fear on her face. The impact of the water was barely noticeable as the two smiling Genin closed their eyes and held each other as tight as they could. Landing in the deepest part and continuing to sink ever so slightly, the two reached the bottom as Naruto pushed off with his feet, sending them almost immediately to the surface. After the two shared a deep breath while Hinata was still cradled within Naruto's arms, he gently started swimming to the edge, carefully keeping Hinata's head propped up next to his own. She laughed as she leaned against his shoulder, her wet hair melding with his.

"Well, you're wrong."

Naruto turned to her, still paddling.

"Hmm? Whaddaya mean?" he asked, turning to her and meeting her gentle pale eyes. Hinata gave very little warning as she swiftly placed a peck on his cheek. Surprising the youth, fate seemed to have turned the tables as Naruto began to blush, even though Hinata quickly retreated back to his shoulder, blushing herself and averting her eyes from his.

"I-I don't regret it, not one bit."

Finding himself able to touch the steadily shallowing bottom, a largely content Naruto made his way to his feet, still only just being able to get his shoulders out of the water. Hinata looped her arms around his neck as he made his way closer to the edge, affectionately pulling her out of the water.

"Well, that's good," Naruto said, smiling as Hinata looked up to him, captivated by his eyes, although they were partly hidden by his currently slumping blonde hair, "because I don't regret it either."

Promptly lifting her up and placing her on the rocky edge of the pool, Naruto and Hinata found themselves in the same position that they were when Naruto had asked her to be his girlfriend – Hinata dangling her legs in the water and Naruto leaning against them eagerly. Remembering a certain part of Hinata that ended up on his face during the aforementioned, Naruto found himself quickly turning an unhealthy shade of red.

"Naruto? A-are you ok?" Hinata queried, tilting her head towards the usually loud youth as he seemed rather distracted… and red. Quickly removing the slightly racy thoughts from his boyish mind, he shook his head and turned to her with a large smile, watching bemusedly as droplets of water fell from her chin and maverick strands of hair.

"Yup!" he replied and quickly eyed the flower that still remained fastened above her ear. He smiled widely as he took her hand and motioned towards it, beaming as waves gently lapped at the water's edge against his movements.

"Hey! You brought my flower! That means you really _do_ like it!" he exclaimed happily, lifting himself to meet her eyes. Hinata laughed and placed a hand gingerly on the flower, adjusting it delicately as she blinked her eyes towards Naruto.

"O-of course, I-I love it," she said, carefully withdrawing her arm and placing it on Naruto's. Turning his hand beneath hers, he gently caressed his thumb over the back of her hand, still feeling the faint traces of water gliding underneath his touch. Naruto averted his gaze from her eyes, turning adoringly to the soft, gentle hand he had taken in his own. He was enraptured by the girl, truly. Allowing himself to come to terms with how much he did indeed _like_ Hinata, he'd continuously grown more enchanted by her. As the days passed, he only continued to find things he treasured about the reserved heiress. Returning to her eyes, he matched her smile as he pulled her into a loving embrace, allowing Hinata to almost instinctually wrap her legs around his lower back – a position that, just like the current situation, seemed rather familiar. Loosely hanging her arms around his neck, she closed her eyes and pushed her body forwards, pressing her body to his and burying her head in his damp jumpsuit. She'd have been content to allow this for the remainder of her days. With Naruto, she felt safe, like someone could understand… like she wasn't an outcast anymore. She had someone, someone who cared for her deeply - someone who was willing to spend hours with her, if only just to have her company! Although it had been scarcely a week since their first date, Hinata cherished every moment they had spent together, truly.

However, even the happiest of days is swallowed by night. Hinata dreaded so many things. She never wanted to be alone; in truth, she detested it whole-heartedly. Naruto had made her so happy in such a short time – what if he left? What if something happened to force him away? She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, but most of all… She couldn't ignore what her father would think of this. Even at the best of times he was intensely strict and, like many of the Konoha villagers, harboured an unyielding grudge towards Naruto. Hinata was the _heiress_ to the Hyuga Estate! Her father would never allow a relationship between her and Naruto, who he deemed unworthy of even the title of 'Genin'. To this day, she couldn't understand what they – her father or the villagers - saw when they looked towards him. All she saw was confidence, determination, courage… and maybe a little bit of a girlish crush. Hinata tightened her hold around Naruto slightly as these thoughts began to steal away the happiness that she so desperately wished to feel. She gently shook her head – she wouldn't allow them to dampen her spirits, nor would she frown. Not while her reason for smiling was there.

"Thank you, Hinata."

Hinata immediately popped out of her thoughts, quickly opening her eyes as Naruto pulled himself back from her to meet her eyes. He took both of her hands in his, grasping them firmly and bringing them to his mouth. Hinata blushed feverishly as Naruto closed his eyes and gently kissed her fingers. Still keeping her legs entwined behind him, Hinata felt her smile return as he slackened his grip on her hands, allowing her to place her hand over his still soaking face.

"Wh-what for?"

Naruto shrugged.

"A lot of the villagers don't like me, and I don't know why. I've heard that it's maybe 'cause of something my parents did, but I don't know that for sure, and I won't believe it. I never met them, but I always imagined they'd be awesome - really cool, ya know? Like, dad would be a famous ninja and mum would be a super-strong Shinobi! All I'd wanna do is make them proud - to be as awesome as they were!"

Hinata observed Naruto lighting up as he talked about the parents he never knew. Even after everything that he'd been through, he still held out hope that his parents were people worth looking up to - great people, great ninjas! Hinata couldn't believe how someone that had been through what Naruto had been through could still turn out so… happy, so positive… so amazing. Hinata felt herself choke as she admired the kindred spirit in front of her, full of nothing but positivity and life… and it was tearing her apart.

"It's those thoughts that have kept me going so far, kept pushing me to be better, even better than Sasuke! I thought that was enough, until you came along," Naruto said, suddenly sounding more serious as Hinata began to tear up. "You gave me a reason to smile – a _real _reason – and… well, apart from that, I guess I wanted to say thanks mainly because… well…"

Naruto released a sigh and bowed his head.

"… you treat me like I'm a person, not a dead-last, or… whatever everyone else thinks I am. I know I've got some great friends in Konoha, but none of them have made me smile like you! These past couple of days have been a lot of fun, really! You… you mean a lot to me, Hinata, and…"

Naruto placed a hand on Hinata's face as a single tear left her eye. '_Naruto didn't even know his_ _parents!' _she thought, welling up as she faced the pain held captive in his cerulean gaze.

"… I'm really glad you said yes."

Any doubt that remained in Hinata's mind quickly vanished as she threw her arms around Naruto, despairingly wanting to hold him until there was no more pain in his eyes. She felt absolutely useless as he wrapped his arms around her, returning her tight embrace with his own.

"I-I'm… I'm r-really glad th-that…" she began, stuttering uncontrollably as she attempted and failed to form a coherent sentence. The fleeting glimpse of forever that she found before suddenly flared inside her again, setting off the butterflies in her stomach and sending her mind into a whirlwind. She couldn't imagine anything that would give her more happiness than the boy whose arms she'd found herself safely inside of. She may be young, but she was far from immature – she could read him, sense him… she could _see_ him.

"N-Naruto…"

Hinata pushed herself out of Naruto's embrace, placing her hands on his chest as she hesitantly met his eyes. Naruto, clued on to nothing more than the fact that Hinata was now crying, suddenly seemed very flustered.

"Whoa, Hinata! What's wrong? Why are you crying? You shouldn't be crying, you should be happy! Was it something I… oh, wait! I know! It's the flower, isn't it? You need another one! One for each ear, of course! I knew Ino was wrong; girls like _lots_ of flowers! I shoulda thought of tha-!"

Naruto was cut off as Hinata promptly sealed his lips with hers, pushing the two together as they (finally) shared their first kiss. Naruto's expression swiftly transformed from panic to peace as two perfectly matching smiles formed on either side. Quickly placing his hands around Hinata who, in turn, placed her hands gently on his chest, an eternity passed the two as they finally sealed their relationship, unbeknownst to everyone else.

Well… almost everyone else…

"… Wow…"

Pulling apart just in time to release a contented sigh before she happily cascaded backwards, Hinata prominently fainted after voicing the only plausible reaction she could register to rightly describe what she'd just felt. She had used every ounce of strength that she had to assure that she remained conscious so as not to forget their very first kiss – _her_ _very first kiss with Naruto!_ And it was that thought alone that tipped Hinata over the edge, sending her 'over the hill and far away', so to speak. Although clearly enjoyable for both sides, Naruto was left with a look of puzzlement as he stared at the lifeless Hinata, whose lips were still an undeniably evident smile as her pale eyes swooned in ecstasy. Naruto found himself pondering only one thought:

"… this is gonna become a habit, isn't it?"

"And that means…?"

Kakashi held out an expectant hand, a large look of satisfaction gleaming off his features as Anko leaned against the tree that the two Jonin had used to spy on Hinata and Naruto only the day before. Anko begrudgingly pulled a small bag of money out of her pocket and placed it in Kakashi's outstretched arm.

"Fine, fine… you win, but _only_ because they finished the kiss first! She still fainted, Kakashi," she said playfully, poking fun at the silver-haired Jonin who triumphantly tossed the coin bag up and down, "and I'm sure I don't need to tell _you_ who that reminds me of?"

Kakashi stared at Anko blankly, having mixed emotions about yesterday's events, but reminding himself of just one thing…

"No reminder necessary. However, seeing as dessert didn't _exactly_ fill me up yesterday, I could _really_ use some Anko right about now."

Anko smirked, raising a brow as she folded her arms and backed against the tree.

"Well, if you don't mind me saying, dessert _filled_ me rather well," she said, her silky tone thickly stained with sensuality. Kakashi raised a brow as he approached her.

"Little early for innuendo, wouldn't you say?" he quizzed, meeting her cheeky gaze with his as she laughed and shook her head.

"Never too early," she chimed, smiling widely as she turned and readied herself to jump off the giant tree branch. "Come on then, let's go get you some dango."

Swiftly using a 'Body Flicker' jutsu to appear beside Anko, Kakashi quickly placed an arm against the tree, blocking her path. Anko seemed taken aback as Kakashi lowered his mask, revealing a cunning smirk as he met Anko's eyes.

"Who said anything about 'dango', hmm?"

Deftly sweeping an arm behind her back, Kakashi pulled Anko into a deep and passionate kiss, startling the violet-haired Jonin. Kakashi was always so timid – she was usually the primary instigator to every one of their many frivolous encounters…  
But hell, she wasn't about to say no. Grabbing his collar and pulling him against the tree, she met his lips fiercely as his hands quickly found their way underneath her shirt. Anko shuddered in delight – she could tell that this would almost make up for her losing the bet.

… almost.

* * *

Yeah, it's a little shorter, but I honestly don't think the chapter needed much else :D

R 'n' R, next chapter will hopefully be up within three or four days! Also, expect more pairings and a little more naughtiness ;)

Good writing to all!

**_LS._**


	4. 4: With sugar on top

**So… after quickly devouring the remainder of my Magnum Ego, I sat down during the wee hours of the morning, sufficiently sweetened and typed up this next chapter in seven hours, smiling contentedly the whole time. Read on to find out why! :D**

**Enjoy "Not as thick as some – With Sugar On Top."**

* * *

"Absolutely not."

"B-but father, I-I-"

"The answer is no, Hinata."

Hiashi walked with his daughter through the Hyuga Estate, turning indifferently at her request whenever she moved to his sights. Leaving her behind as per normal occurrence, Hinata found herself reaching pleadingly towards Hiashi, aiming to barely touch his hand, just to let him know that she was still there… to wait for her, to walk _with_ her, instead of holding the relentless lead that forced her time and time again to fall behind. He was always so far ahead, so far out of reach. All she wanted was to be noticed by him… to be loved like a _daughter, _she knew, was far too much to ask.

"F-father, please, it's o-only one n-night-" she said, leaning into him as she gently brushed against his rough palm.

"Hinata!"

Hinata whimpered as Hiashi released his Byakugan, snatching his hand away and turning to the cowering girl as his silently furious tone seemed to fill the entire estate.

"I said 'no'. You will not leave the Hyuga Estate tonight, tomorrow night, or any other night, unless a mission requires it. I will not allow it. My word is final, and you _will_ obey it."

Hiashi turned on his heels, walking away from the incredibly ashamed heiress as tears tugged at her eyes. Determined not to allow Hiashi to hear, she narrowed her brows, quickly wiping away the tears lest they find home on her pale cheeks. She knew that what she asked was far from a long shot, but to be reprimanded in such a condescending way…

"… I-I'm not a child anymore, f-father…"

Hiashi swiftly stopped himself, his long dark hakama and haori gently swaying forward in protest to the halt of motion. Hinata froze painfully as a bolt of panic screamed through her spine. Her breath stifled, almost as if there was no remaining oxygen to breathe. Attempting to maintain an air of confidence, although an intensely crippling appearance of fear was far more prevalent, the Hyuga heiress felt the painful heat of anxiety welling in her cheeks as she faced her father. She prepared herself (at least mentally) for a disciplinary hiding, as was common placement for showing disrespect to superiors and elders, and following that an extended punishment that could have ranged from confinement to her quarters to a thoroughly succinct and lone cleaning of the entire Main House. As Hiashi turned to meet the determined eyes of her daughter, every fibre of her body told her to run, to leave – to turn around and never look back, as the fury so prevalent in his eyes tunnelled straight through her. He paced towards the frightened youth as Hinata slowly prepared to attempt to counter the inevitable strike – Hiashi's discipline was fast, furious and final. If he wanted to, he could force her body into paralysation and leave her lying on the cold floor for the night – something she was, unfortunately, familiar with. Stopping just before his now visually trembling daughter, Hiashi met her determined, albeit waning, gaze with utmost contempt and pearl-white rage. Following his movements with her eyes as he raised a palm, Hinata braced herself, closing her eyes and preparing for the iron of his slap to leave its painful shadow across her cheek.

"I know, Hinata."

A gentle palm placed upon her shoulder forced Hinata's eyes open in shock, unable to distinguish the differing realities she'd seemingly been enveloped into – surely, this wasn't realy, as such an alien predicament seemed so… unlikely. Hiashi wouldn't react this way – he was brutal with punishments, to say the least, and affection, even to his daughter, was something that not even the highest trained Byakugan would ever witness. Even in the deepest recesses of Hinata's memory, she couldn't remember one fathering embrace, one 'job-well-done' pat on the head – nothing. So why, all of a sudden, the sudden act (although small) of kindness? Tentatively tilting her head upwards, Hinata found Hiashi's eyes mellowed with understanding as opposed to burning with rage, with the latter being her aforementioned interpretation.

"I know you aren't a child anymore, but you are still _my_ daughter, and as such _my_ responsibility. I will not risk your sa-" Hiashi quickly cleared his throat, catching a cough with his fist. "… I will not risk your antics, however innocent they may seem, becoming a blemish on the infallible name of the Hyuga Clan."

Keeping his hand firmly atop her frail shoulder, Hiashi's infallibly proud gaze kept Hinata baffled as he eased a gentle palm underneath her chin.

"It's a parental matter, one I'm sure you'll be confronted with when you're older."

Softly patting her chin, Hiashi turned away from her, continuing to his previous destination and leaving his daughter in a stunned state of inadvertent shock.

"S… so, I c-can't-"

"My answer remains, Hinata. You will stay in the Hyuga Estate tonight," Hiashi said finally, not halting his departure or even turning to face her. She disappointedly looked to her feet as the grim realisation finally surfaced.

"However…"

Hiashi slowed his pace as he cocked his head, barely glancing back at his daughter.

"… if you wish to invite your friends here, they're more than welcome to stay, as long as they are familiar with and respectful of our customs."

A flint of happiness suddenly ignited within Hinata's body as she quickly found herself unable to quell the ever-growing joy welling up inside her. An excited grin flashed across her face as she gasped anxiously, taking a step towards Hiashi.

"R-really? I-it's ok if I-I have them stay here?" she stammered, poking her index fingers together feverishly. Hiashi nodded and then turned from her, continuing his steady pace out of the room.

"As long as they behave, Hinata. Rapscallions will not be accepted in the Hyuga household."

With that, Hiashi bade her farewell as she excitedly ran to her room, with not a more prominent thought than grabbing her coat and heading towards Konoha. She couldn't wait to tell everyone the news – Hinata was _actually_ allowed to have friends over, for the _first time!_

* * *

"Whoa, what? At _your_ place?" Ino queried, looking on disbelievingly at the surprisingly eager features of the Hyuga heiress.

"Yes, at _my_ place! F-father said that you could all c-come and stay over, can you believe it?" Hinata squealed delightedly, rocking up and down on the balls of her feet as Ino laughed happily.

"Tell you what, I really _can't_ believe it!" she replied, placing a hand on her hip and walking around her family's flower shop, tending to and pruning the forget-me-nots and petunias as needed. "You're dad – no offense – seems like a real fuddy-duddy, you know? Like, real strict and stuff."

Hinata smiled and shrugged contentedly, following Ino around the shop and stopping at the Calla Lilies.

"Yeah, I know," she mused with a happy sigh, delicately touching the differing bells of a select few flowers, "but you can come tonight, right?"

Hinata turned to Ino as she clipped a stem of forget-me-nots from the surplus in the ceramic trough in front of her. Gently placing it into the left side of her hair, she turned to Hinata and gave a quirky wink.

"You bet! The shop closes at five, so… wanna meet me here with the rest of the group then?"

"Sure! Oh, and sorry that we couldn't have it at yours like we planned, Ino. F-father wouldn't allow it…"

Ino shrugged, raising her hands carelessly.

"Eh, doesn't matter. It's still happening, isn't it? So what's there to be sorry about?"

Ino smiled as Hinata nodded in agreement. Once again turning to the lilies to her left, she gently fingered the pearly bells, smiling as memories came lovingly rushing back to her. Ino quickly leaned across to her, surveying the select few lilies that were on display.

"I'll have to go out back to get your favourite one, sweetie," she said with a laugh. Hinata suddenly popped back to reality, turning to Ino and shaking her head.

"O-oh no, th-that's alright! I was just remembering… when N-Naruto asked me… to…"

That was all she could get out before Ino released an excited squeal, happily grabbing her hands and jumping up and down excitedly. Excusing her otherwise polite behaviour for a fleeting moment of freedom, Hinata joined her as the two jumped up and down, squealing in excitement together. Ino happily wrapped her arms around Hinata as Hinata returned her embrace, happy to have made such a close friend in one who shares her love of flowers.

"I-I never thanked you properly, Ino," she said, swaying gently in the arms of her friend. Ino retracted her hold around Hinata, returning her hands to Hinata's as she smiled inquisitively.

"What are you talkin' about?" she laughed, playfully nudging Hinata as she crinkled her nose, brushing her hair from her face.

"If you hadn't told N-Naruto my favourite flower, h-he probably wouldn't have… well, asked me out."

Hinata barely finished before another excited titter left her lips. Ino mirrored her action, quickly turning to the lilies beside her and picking up her clippers.

"Nonsense," she said, quickly trimming one of the bells off of the liveliest of the bunch, "Naruto would have asked you out either way. Besides, I think we _both _know that if it wasn't a flower, it-"

"-would have been a cinnamon roll!"

The two giggled girlishly as Ino clanked the clippers noisily on the bench, taking the bell of the lily and placing it in Hinata's thick dark locks.

"There, that'll do for now," she said as Hinata continued to titter. "I'll bring some more over tonight so we can decorate each other's hair!"

"Sounds great!" Hinata cried as she nodded happily.

"Hello?"

The doorbell sounded as a customer entered the flower shop, looking around hurriedly. Ino quickly turned, holding a hand up and greeting them.

"Hi, be right there!"

Returning to Hinata as she nodded, Ino gave the heiress a confident wink as she picked up her clippers and made her way to the customer.

"I'll see you at five, Hinata!"

"S-sure thing!"

Hinata quickly made her way out of the shop, her next destination playfully dancing through her mind as she sped through the dirt streets of Konoha.

* * *

"Anko, I'm starting to worry. This place is practically your second home."

"Correction: this place practically _is_ my home."

"It almost seems that way."

"Except it smells better."

Kurenai and Anko shared a quick laugh from the counter at Anko's favourite café. Treating each other to numerous cups of coffee, the dark-haired women released double-edged sighs – one part lax, one part miserable. The two Jonin had found themselves without the warmth of their lovers for almost a fortnight - the subject rapidly becoming a matter that almost ruled their conversation for a good majority of the morning. Dawning upon the unfortunately accurate conclusion that the two just weren't coping that well, Anko sipped her less-than-warm coffee and released a deep sigh, pulling the hair tie from the spiky bun atop her head and allowing her violet tresses to tumble down and dangle just above her waist.

"Ugh… it's been ages since I've had dessert…" Anko groaned, snaking her fingers through her long and straight hair, shaking it vigorously. Leaning miserably on the table and catching her face with her open palms, she stared longingly at the dark cup of half-finished cold coffee, reminded only of his dashing charm, his strong chest, his rigid physique... his gentle, intelligent eyes… strong, safe embrace…

She missed Kakashi. She missed him more than anything. What was worse, she had no idea when he was coming back.

"Just to double check; dessert as the euphemism, right?"

Anko shot Kurenai a glum side-glance, meeting her questioning scarlet eyes with gloom as she grumbled.

"… or the safe word."

Kurenai barely and unconvincingly choked back a snicker, pressing a finger to her tightening lips as she quickly closed her eyes. Anko released another discontented grunt.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, but… well…" Anko began before shifting uncomfortably, donning an adorable look of reminiscence, "… we both have a… sweet tooth…"

A loud snort echoed through the café as the scarcely avoided snicker avalanched into a piercingly loud cackle. Kurenai found herself leaning over the counter, face distorted as her breathing became terribly weighted. Anko tried to supress a small grin crossing the corner of her lips as she turned to Kurenai.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" she said, finding the laughter infectious as a slight giggle welled in her own throat. Kurenai turned to her, tears almost running down her cheeks as she began to motion some sort of act with her hands, desperately trying and miserably failing to maintain an air of decency.

"It's… it's just that Kakashi is -*snort*- so timid… just imagining him on his back screaming _'Anko, DESSERT, DESSERT!'_ Oh God, I think I'm gonna wet myself!"

The peaceful serenity that swaddled the café was quickly abolished with boisterous, childish laughter as Anko head-butted the counter, wheezing breaths through scarcely open lips as Kurenai folded an arm over her stomach and slapped a hand over her mouth. The two Jonin were sure they could have been heard in the next building, but having their attentions turned from their distant lovers for an ephemeral instant granted them a chance to laugh, to smile and, albeit briefly, to forget the loneliness.

"What makes it worse is _that's actually happened more than_ _once!_" Anko blurted out, barely audible beneath the duos tightly shut eyes and raucous laughter. Residents in the café quickly caught the bug, sending titters and chuckles throughout the diner, even through the staff as they passed the cackling women. Passing the time thereafter with idle conversation and more coffee as their laughter eventually subsided, the pair quickly and inevitably found themselves on the subject of their respective lovers.

"I know what you mean," Kurenai said, idly stirring her drink as her thoughts drifted to a burly and bearded man. "I'm gonna go crazy if Asuma doesn't get back soon. Where did they go, anyway?"

"I don't even know. Hiruzen has them on some wild goose chase, following some rogue ninja or something. Last I heard, they were headed for Sunagakure."

Kurenai released a deep sigh, sipping her coffee as she and Anko shared a forlorn gaze at the darkened mixture in their cups.

"No chance they'll be back soon, then?" Kurenai offered, praying for a positive response. Anko rolled her eyes.

"They honestly _can't_ be too much longer, it's been almost two weeks!" she argued, resting her chin on the countertop and sulking. "Bastard… longest mission I've had in the past _three years _was a grand total of _four days!_"

"But you got to spend that _with_ him, at least?"

Anko's heavy heart finally gained a small breath of comfort, lifting the weight as Anko gently swooned to her first memories of Kakashi revealing his feelings for her.

"… _I wish he'd say it more…"_

"Sorry?"

Anko unknowingly mumbled her last thought, eyes widening upon the realisation. Turning to Kurenai, she immediately relaxed into an exasperated groan before flailing her arms. Girls can be girls, right?

"I wish he'd say that he loves me more," she whinged, cupping her hands around her coffee and bringing it to her nose. "He's the reason I drink so much of this crap… he _reeks_ of the stuff whenever he returns from a mission…"

"I hear you," Kurenai said, forming a surreptitious grin over her reddened lips as her and Anko folded their legs in tandem. "Hate smoking, hate _smokers_, but God, do I miss the smell when he's not around…"

Kurenai and Anko exchanged glances, sharing a smile and a sigh before raising their cups of coffee, clinking mugs before taking another sip.

"To being whipped."

"Or, you know, you could say 'to being in love'?"

Spraying the countertop with coffee as they quickly choked in surprise, Anko and Kurenai turned towards the entrance to find Asuma and Kakashi leaning against the wooden pillars. Kakashi released a charming laugh as Asuma quickly shot a wide smile towards Kurenai.

"I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I checked your house first," Kakashi shot towards Anko, who quickly drew a large smile and removed herself from her seat as Kurenai quickly mopped the countertop. "I should have known that you'd be here."

"Yeah, you shoulda," Anko proclaimed, quickly walking towards him and punching him playfully in the shoulder, "and how about you tell me the next time you're gonna be gone for two weeks?"

"Same for you, Mister!" Kurenai said, quickly tailing Anko before making her way to the door and wrapping her arms around Asuma. Returning her gesture with muscular arms, Asuma embraced Kurenai before laughing happily.

"Very well then," he said, turning to and placing a wrist on Kakashi's shoulder, "welcome home, Kakashi."

Kakashi turned to Asuma, returning the gesture.

"Oh, yeah, welcome home, Asuma. Gee, wouldn't it be nice to hear those words from our partners?" he said playfully, shooting a quick glance to Anko who had folded her arms and sarcastically raised her brows.

"Yeah, ya know, that'd be just swell-!"

Kurenai halted Asuma's speech by lovingly covering his lips with her own. Anko, not one to be shown up, grabbed Kakashi's face mask, swiftly lowering it before seizing his collar and pulling his lips onto hers. Fierce flames of desire quickly erupted beneath the flurry of passions as Kurenai rested her hands on Asuma's chest and Anko lazily draped her arms around Kakashi's neck. After two weeks, two _long _weeks, they two Jonin would finally fall asleep in the arms of their lovers. Anko hesitantly pulled herself from Kakashi's lips, savouring the prominent smell of coffee and eyeing him mischievously as he mirrored her playful smirk.

"Welcome enough for you?" she teased, widening her smile to show her pearly whites. Kakashi shrugged, running a hand through her long hair.

"For now, at least," he remarked, turning his attention to her hair as his face began to redden. Anko tittered childishly.

"Nawww, you still blush when I kiss you, sweetie!" she trilled, crinkling her nose and continuing to giggle as Kurenai joined in and Asuma turned to the couple. Kakashi shrugged – he knew it, they knew it… it was practically pointless to try to hide it.

"Who wouldn't? With the way you kiss, I'm lucky to be standing," he replied, to which Anko turned to Asuma and Kurenai, removing her arms from Kakashi's neck and placing a hand on his chest.

"Hinata," she started, then placed a hand upon herself, "Naruto."

Asuma and Kurenai laughed loudly as Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"In my defence, I've only fainted _once_ from kissing you, and your hair looks fantastic when it's out," said Kakashi, trailing off in thought as he ran his fingers through Anko's long tresses. Asuma shrugged, taking Kurenai's hand and turning to Kakashi and Anko.

"Well, I dunno about you two, but I'm about ready to take this one to lunch," he said, turning to Kurenai and then returning to the two Jonin. "The more, the merrier, if you're interested?"

Anko quickly folded an arm around Kakashi's waist, smiling as he courteously placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close.

"Where to?"

* * *

"Bye, mum! I'll be back tomorrow, ok?"

Ino called back towards her mother as she quickly came dashing out of the house. Hinata, Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Akamaru and Naruto were all waiting for her, each with an overnight bag slung over their shoulder, under their arms or on their backs.

"Ready?" Hinata asked, taking Naruto's hand as Ino joined the rest of the group. Swinging her bag over her shoulder and quickly puffing her long hair out of her face, she smiled and nodded.

"All set!"

"And just quickly," Kiba added, looking towards Akamaru who was cosily snuggled on his head underneath his hood, "it's ok to bring Akamaru, right?"

Hinata smiled and nodded, motioning to the group.

"O-of course, Kiba! Come on e-everyone, let's go!"

The group happily made their way towards the Hyuga Estate, shooting stories of missions and trainings back and forth, spouting laughs and joyous banter as they made their way along. Happening upon the main entrance, Hinata greeted the guards.

"These are my guests; they'll be staying the night. Have the preparations been made for the bedrooms?"

The first Hyuga guard nodded, turning to his counterpart and proceeding to push the doors of the main gate open.

"Everything has been prepared, Hinata. We hope that your friends enjoy their…"

The guard paused as he spied Naruto cautiously, seeming to forget that he could speak when he observed the Jinchuriki holding the heiress' hand.

"… stay…"

"Thank you!" Hinata quickly replied, bowing low as the two guards did the same. Observing the group of Genin entering the compound and glimpsing Hinata's hand closed over Naruto's, the guards quickly closed the door behind them, exchanging glances.

"Hiashi is… ummm…"

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly."

"… and this is the main training room!" Hinata exclaimed, halfway through giving her tour of the estate. Opening the sliding door to reveal a large and grandiose room, paved with sheets of white and keeping in similarity to the remainder of the establishment, the group slowly made their way inside. Kiba and Naruto quickly jumped to the centre of the empty hall, looking around excitedly as Akamaru barked happily atop Kiba's head.

"Awww man! Just imagine some of the sick sparring matches that have happened here!" said Kiba, taking an overwhelming interest in the floor, searching for dents and scratches.

"Yeah, yeah! I'll bet that Hiashi has kicked every butt of every ninja that's ever come in here! He's like the strongest old guy I know! Well, apart from Grandpa Hokage!" joked Naruto, forming a hand sign and bowing.

"So I see you've found our training room rather easily."

Hinata, Ino, Sakura and Sasuke quickly turned around to find Hiashi standing directly behind them, his stern and authoritative look as prevalent as always. Hinata quickly stationed herself before him, bowing quickly.

"Father! These are my friends, the ones that I was telling you about!" Hinata replied happily, turning to Sakura, Sasuke and Ino as the three bowed.

"Pleasure to meet you, sir."

Hiashi smiled, raising a hand.

"Welcome to the Hyuga Estate. It's very easy to see why Hinata has made such friends as you. You all seem very resp-"

Hiashi's tone suddenly died, presumably along with Hiashi. Turning sheet white, the head of the Hyuga house twitched suddenly as he laid his eyes on the unnamed guests.

"H-H-Hinata, wh-who are th-they?" he stammered, surprising Hinata momentarily before she suddenly remembered why she was apprehensive to bring Naruto here – she didn't think Hiashi liked Naruto!

"O-oh, that's… ummm, N-N-Naruto U-Uzumaki a-and Kiba I-Inuzuka," Hinata stuttered, furiously poking her fingers together, suddenly almost collapsing due to a semi-nervous breakdown. Ino quickly took to her side.

"Hinata! Are you alright? You got really red all of a sudden!"

Alerting each other to the commotion on the opposite side of the room, Naruto and Kiba quickly met the pale eyes of one Hiashi Hyuga, immediately forcing their jaws to the floor.

"N-no way!"

Hiashi winced nervously, taking a semi defensive stance as the two boys came racing towards him.

"Wow! Master Hiashi Hyuga! It's an honour to meet you, sir!" Naruto said, bowing low and smiling.

"A real honour, sir!" Kiba reiterated, bowing as Naruto had. Hiashi swallowed a brick in his throat as he darted between Hinata and Naruto.

"… the pleasure's… mine, I… assure you… why is… why is Naruto here?"

Naruto seemed hardly taken aback by the question and, much to Hinata's dismay, seemed only too eager to answer.

"Oh, that's easy! It's because we were all gonna have a sleepover at Ino's house, but then Hinata couldn't come, so we all decided to come to her place instead! You know, 'bring the party to you' kinda thing? Oh, uh… sir!"

Hiashi continued to shake as he turned to Hinata, who was unable to look him in the eyes as she practically sanded the ends off of her index fingers.

"… and you are a friend of my daughter's, then?" he asked hesitantly. Hinata suddenly popped her head up, her skin colour almost as sheet white as her eyes, clasping a hand over her mouth as she saw Naruto eagerly waiting to answer. Only one problem there - in the _month_ that she'd been going out with the boy, she _still_ had yet to tell her father about it!

'_Oh God, oh God, Oh GOD_ , _OH GOD! OH GOD, OH GOD! OH GOD! OH GOD! OHGOD! OHGOD! OHGOD! OHGODOHGODHOHGODOHGODOHGOD-!'_

"Oh, I'm more than a friend, Master Hiashi!"

'_Oh god, please Naruto, no! Don't tell him! Don't tell him, don't tell him, don't tell him…'_

Hiashi craned his neck towards his daughter, fear consuming his eyes at the thought. He prayed that he'd heard wrong.

"M-m-more th-than a f-friend? Wh-what d-do you mean b-by th-tha…" Hiashi's thoughts were severed as the realisation suddenly dawned upon him. Hinata could no longer feel her fingers as she swore smoke was coming from the tips.

'_Oh my goodness… this is happening…'_

"I'm-"

Hinata swallowed, darting between Hiashi and Naruto so fast she thought she might get whiplash as Hiashi darted between Naruto and Hinata just as intensely.

"-Hinata's-"

For the first time in their lives, the Hyuga's were thinking the exact same thing:

'_OH DEAR GOD NO, PLEASE DEAR GOD NO, DON'T SAY IT! PLEASE DON'T SAY IT! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NONONONONONONONONONONONONO-'_

"-boyfriend!"

'Boyfriend.'

'BOYFRIEND.'

'_BOYFRIEND!'_

'_**BOYFRIEND!'**_

_***Thump!***_

"A-ah! Master Hiashi! A-are you alright? Y-you just fainted all of a sudden!" cried Naruto, as Kiba and himself quickly rushed to Hiashi's side. The Hyuga leader had found himself sprawled comically halfway out of the open sliding door, eyes spinning as a very strange, high-pitched giggle seemed to be escaping his mouth.

_***Thump!***_

"Oh, god, he's hysterical! Someone call the- wait, what was th-"

Before Naruto could finish his thought, he turned to Ino, Sakura and Sasuke. Finding the exact same look and high pitched giggle coming from Hinata as she lay on the floor, still managing to feverishly twist her index fingers together, Naruto's mouth dropped open as he dashed to her side, panic-stricken as Ino and Sakura could barely hold back a laugh.

"Awww, come on! I wasn't even _near_ her this time!"

* * *

More cuteness to come - let me know what you think! :D

R 'n' R, good writing to all!

_**LS.**_


	5. 5: Truth or Dare!

**Author's note: Just realised, in the last few chapters I portrayed Anko's hair-colour as brown. Quickly realising that I'm a douche and completely wrong, I revised the last two chapters, changing her hair to her original colour: Violet. So, sorry to all the die-hard Anko fans that I've insulted!**

**Also: THIS CHAPTER GETS NAUGHTY IN THE SECOND HALF. ;)**

* * *

After a moment of panic within the group, Hiashi and Hinata were both awakened and as nervous and quiet as each other. Dinner was taken only moments after in the dining room and after the first few plates had been served, the quietened Hiashi devoured his fill in the first two mouthfuls. The Hyuga head raised himself from the table, bowing low towards the guests who turned to him, rather surprised.

"I beg your leave, children. Do enjoy your stay tonight," he said as the group mirrored a respectful bow.

"Thank you, Master Hiashi!"

Hinata quickly faced her father with a small, nervous smile.

"Ummm… f-father…?"

Hiashi raised a hand and turned to his daughter, sporting a similarly nervous grin.

"… Later, Hinata. Have fun and enjoy yourself tonight."

Her small smile quickly grew as she nodded towards Hiashi, who suddenly realised that his words could have been interpreted in many different ways. Intense panic tore through him as he darted to Naruto for a split second, quickly returning an alarmed gaze to his daughter.

"B-b-but _d-don't _have t-too much fun, alright? Just, ummm…" Hiashi swallowed, unable to comfortably arrange the sentence, "… enjoy… _responsible…_ fun…"

Hiashi seemed all but lost on the subject as Hinata met his eyes concernedly, unsure of what to make of the situation. Ino, Kiba and Sasuke wheezed a snickering laugh to one another as Sakura turned to Hiashi.

"We'll be here to ensure that, sir," she assured, smiling towards the man who appeared to be anything _but_ assured. Releasing a sigh, Hiashi bowed his head.

"Thank you, Sakura…" he droned, bowing once more before making his way out of the room. Hinata turned towards the now laughing Kiba, Ino and Sasuke.

"Wh-what's so funny?" she asked innocently as Sasuke turned to her.

"Imagine for a moment, if you will - Naruto being responsible. Hah!"

Before Hinata could try to protest, Naruto quickly beat her to the punch, poking a tongue out at Sasuke.

"Whatever, bozo! But what your dad said was really weird, Hinata…" Naruto said, taking a mouthful of rice, "… bethideth, how ith rethponthibiwity any fhun at aww?"

The remainder of dinner consisted of titters from the group and a rather red heiress.

Dinner was dealt with almost as quickly as bathing. Ino had brought flowers for the girls, each taking their respective favourite and placing it in their hair. Changing into their pyjamas, settling into Hinata's larger room and throwing hapless childish conversation back and forth, smiles littered the faces of the young ninja as they took the time to forget training, missions and avoid spying Jonin for the night. Before long, the conversation dwindled to childish ways to pass time and occupy themselves before bed. The couples had found comfortable positions next to each other: Kiba beside Ino, Sakura next to Sasuke and Naruto found himself leaning against Hinata's bed with Hinata sitting above him, draping her legs over his shoulders and running playful fingers through his messy, damp hair.

"You two are _adorable!_" chimed Ino as she failed to withhold a giggle. "How long has it been now?"

Naruto quickly piped up with a large smile as Hinata blushed and grinned widely.

"Been a month and four days, now!" he said, reaching up to Hinata as she placed her hands within his. "The fifth of every month!"

The heiress lovingly leant over Naruto, dropping her head to his as the two shared a quick kiss. Returning to her seated position, she prominently blushed before returning her fingers to Naruto's hair.

"Whoa, P.D.A, _P.D.A! _We'll hafta get Hiashi in here!" Kiba joked as he laughed at Naruto. He shot a glare towards him and flailed a leg in his direction.

"Shaddup, dog-face! She's my girlfriend - we can kiss if we want. Right, Hina?"

Hinata nodded in reply, beaming as her and Ino exchanged glances. A slightly over-energetic Sakura suddenly burst up from her quiet corner beside Sasuke.

"Hey, I have an idea! Why don't we play truth or dare?"

Ino jumped at the thought.

"You're _on!_ I love that game!" she exclaimed as she traded a high-five with the instigator. Sakura looked around the room.

"Wh-what's 'truth or dare'?"

Every eye in the room suddenly landed upon the heiress. Even Naruto managed to lean his head as far back as possible, meeting her eyes. She darted around nervously.

"… wh-what?"

"You _don't_ know what truth or dare is?" Sakura said, wide-eyed. Sasuke spoke up, leaning in front of her.

"Obviously, Sakura. Hinata's usually not allowed to have guests over, remember? Who could she have played it with?"

"Oh, yeah…" she replied slowly, seeming to have momentarily forgotten the strict customs of the Hyuga Estate. Hinata blushed as her hands left Naruto's head, almost instantly magnetising her index fingers together.

"S-sorry, but c-could someone explain it to m-me?" she asked hesitantly. Naruto quickly reached upwards, grabbing her hands and holding them gently.

"It's not too hard, Hinata. If you get picked, someone will ask you truth or dare, so you pick one, and you either gotta tell a truth or do a dare. If it's your turn, you pick someone and you say 'truth or dare!' then you either ask a truth or give 'em a dare!"

"Couldn't have said it any _simpler_ myself," mocked Kiba as Akamaru yapped contently atop his head. Naruto poked his tongue out towards him as Sakura loudly opted to go first.

"Okay then! I'll go first," she cried as Sasuke placed a hand over hers.

"Easy! Hinata's gonna go deaf soon," he said, nudging her softly as she giggled.

"Yeah, billboard-brow! Along with the rest of us, who _MIGHT_ have wanted to go first!"

Ino poked a tongue at Sakura, who returned the gesture after her tiny outburst.

"Yeah, well guess what? _The game was my idea!_" she retorted, meeting her gaze angrily. Hinata and Naruto recoiled slightly as Kiba and Sasuke placed a hand around their respective girl.

"Okay, alright, let's not get into a fight now, girls!" Kiba said as he pulled Ino towards himself. Ino gasped as Kiba unintentionally gripped too hard around her hips – a delicate spot for the blonde girl. Turning a shade similar to Sakura's dress, she lazily fell into his arms, leaning on him in a slightly less than innocent manner as her arm grazed the inside of Kiba's thigh.

"Ummm… Ino?"

Snapping out of another flower-ridden daydream, Ino sat bolt-upright, removing her swayed hand from Kiba's lap. She darted around the room nervously as Kiba suddenly became quite silent, rather taken aback and confused as to what had just happened. Noticing the goings-on, the cogs in Sakura's mind began to grind mischievously.

"Hey, Kiba," she said softly as Kiba turned from Ino, "have you and Ino _kissed_ yet?"

Ino's eyes widened immediately at the mention as she locked a gaze towards Sakura, bewildered as Kiba scratched the back of his head. Akamaru suddenly jumped into his lap, curling himself underneath his coat and popping his head out of the top.

"… why do you wanna know, Sakura?" he asked nervously, darting to Ino who had suddenly gone extremely quiet. Sakura smiled happily, darting between the two.

"Because I'm nosey."

"Yeah, I guessed as much," Kiba replied with a sly grin. Sakura suddenly clapped her hands and rubbed them together, turning to Kiba.

"Right then. Kiba, truth or dare?"

Kiba confidently remarked, sparing no thought at a challenge.

"I'll take dare, all the way!"

Sakura grinned at his sentence, slanting her eyes towards Ino.

"Get ready, _Ino_," Sakura trilled, turning and pointing menacingly towards Kiba. "Alright, Casanova. I _dare_ you to kiss Ino, and make it a _good_ one!"

Kiba suddenly found his smile rather comically gone as he suddenly turned silent. Ino was on the verge of giving Hinata's blushing prowess a run for its money as her eyes practically burst from their sockets.

"… S-Sakura, are you _serious_?" Ino barely breathed, cupping her face in an attempt to hide the red tinge. Kiba had turned to her, suddenly finding his smile.

"Ino, do you wanna be my girlfriend?"

As Ino slowly craned her head to meet Kiba's eyes she managed to squeak a small question.

"… wha-?"

"Well, if I'm about to have my first kiss, I want it to be with my _girlfriend,_ so…"

Kiba turned to Ino as Sakura and Hinata exchanged glances, pursing their lips as they inwardly giggled.

"… will you be my girlfriend, Ino?"

Ino managed to squeak out a small 'yes' as she threw her arms around Kiba, pressing her lips to his as Akamaru suddenly disappeared under Kiba's jacket with a small whine. Naruto smiled wide as he slightly tightened his hands around Hinata's knees while the heiress fought back titters, exchanging glances with Sakura who was grinning ear to ear. Kiba and Ino pulled apart slowly as Ino's dreamy gaze caused her eyelids to flutter, immediately placing a hand on her cheek to attempt to steady herself as a thoroughly contented sigh escaped her lips.

"There ya go, dare complete," Kiba replied with a thumbs up. Akamaru yapped happily inside his coat, falling out of the bottom and curling himself into Kiba's lap. Sakura raised a protestant finger, waving it side to side.

"Well, to be more accurate, Ino kissed _you_, so that doesn't _exactly_ count…"

Sakura lingered at the end of her sentence, eagerly anticipating round two. Kiba rolled his eyes and turned to Ino, who had only just enough to turn to him before they were once again lip-locked. Placing a hand gently to his face, Ino ran soft fingers down his cheeks as an increasing redness ignited her own. Kiba broke from her, smiling as Ino returned with a wide grin, once again drawing a comforting palm to her cheek.

"Happy now?" Kiba laughed, turning to Sakura as Ino continued to blush - the irreplaceable smile still shining underneath her bright azure eyes. Sakura remained giddy as even Sasuke managed a smirk, placing an arm behind her back as she leaned into him gently.

"Happy now," chimed Sakura, laughing excitedly as she shot Ino a quick wink. Smirking and rolling her eyes, Ino subtly pointed and mouthed 'you're next' to Sakura, who responded with a wink and a poked tongue. Kiba displayed a toothy grin as he turned to Naruto, pointing towards him.

"Right, knucklehead! Truth or dare?"

Naruto seemingly pondered for a second as he reached his hands over Hinata's knees, lazily hanging his arms from them as the heiress began running her long, white nails through his unkempt mop of hair.

"Hmmm… I'll take a truth!" Naruto chimed happily, still contentedly smiling away as Hinata's fingernails grazed gently over his head. An opportunity quickly arose to Kiba – he now had a chance to ask Naruto something that had been playing on his mind for a fair while.

"Alrighty then, how'd you learn the Shadow Clone jutsu?" he asked, folding his arms and leaning back towards Ino. Akamaru yapped happily atop his head as Ino

"Ooo, yeah! Good question!" added Sakura, turning intently as even Sasuke bore an interested expression. Naruto smiled.

"I learned it from one of the forbidden scrolls of Konoha. It was a giant pain in the butt!"

Kiba groaned, waving his hand.

"No, I mean like tell us the _story!_ Iruka Sensei only gave us the short version. You were _there_, so come on, spill it!"

Naruto seemed perplexed. He didn't really find it _that_ big a deal, but nevertheless, he told the story – How Mizuki had promised he'd become a Genin if he stole the scroll, how Iruka saved his life after Mizuki tried to kill him and (his favourite part) how he managed to perform the 'Multiple shadow clone' jutsu to overcome Mizuki and send him packing.

"Now THAT's at least worth a pass!" joked Kiba, laughing as Sasuke joined him.

"At least, I agree," he said, turning to Naruto. "So, you never heard what Mizuki wanted to tell you?"

Naruto turned to the ceiling, pondering for just a moment before shaking his head.

"No. Iruka cut him off before he finished, which I'm kinda thankful for. He didn't really seem like he wanted me to hear it, so it must have been something bad, ya know?" he said as Hinata gently leaned down to kiss his forehead. Sasuke shrugged as Ino leaned into Kiba, who promptly placed an arm around her.

"Can't do much about it, I suppose," Kiba said, leaning his head on Ino's. "Alright, you're turn, whiskers."

* * *

A tender hand traced along Kakashi's chest as the cold night air chilled the room; passionate brown eyes meeting his darkened gaze. Working fingers through the woman's long dark hair as his lips were graced with a short but sweet kiss, Kakashi settled happily into the home he'd been absent from for the last fortnight – half covered by white sheets beside a beautiful chocolate-eyed Jonin.

"My God… two weeks away from _this_," Anko whispered, pressing her body to his – a lethally alluring blend of well-toned muscle and soft, feminine curves. Her fingers hooked over Kakashi's shoulders, rousing a deep sigh from the silver-haired Jonin as Anko's nails gently grazed back and forth behind his neck, tempting his eyes to hers once again.

"Two weeks I could have done without," he replied, easing a hooked finger beneath her chin and raising Anko's lips to his own. Sparking sly intent in her hazel eyes, her fingers glided to Kakashi's strong jawline as she playfully took a sharp breath, willing Kakashi's lips apart. Sensually matching his tongue with hers, the two shared a passionate kiss as a less-than-subtle movement from the woman stirred a wanting moan from the man of a thousand jutsu. Stretching a leg across his strong physique, Anko rolled her body to mould to Kakashi's, straddling him and keeping her lips firmly affixed to his. Returning from his kiss with a gentle gasp and toss of her head, Anko released a sigh as her deep indigo hair fell to one side, gently feathering breaths of contact across Kakashi's cheek and neck. An arc of her back and fiery grinding of her hips ensued as she pressed her hands to Kakashi's chest, stirring another cushioned moan from the Jonin as he struggled to battle the landslide of rushing desire. Trailing tender scratches down his sternum, Anko placed her hands either side of Kakashi's chest, allowing him an unguarded view of the woman who'd 'welcomed' him home only minutes prior.

"Welcome enough for you?" she sang, folding an arm across his chest and resting her head against it, pushing her bare chest into his stomach. Winding adoring fingers through her long hair, Kakashi took her free hand in his own, locking fingers with her as he rested their hands against the mattress.

"For now," he replied as she giggled happily, placing gentle kisses on his sternum. Breaths of finger tips began to climb from Anko's lower back as she shuddered in delight, thoroughly content in the knowledge of where her next few nights would be spent. Words held little justice to the joy Anko felt at having her lover fill the vacant side of her bed, which had seemed so empty for the last fortnight-

"I love you."

An irrevocable smile itched at the corner of Anko's lips as she lifted her head to Kakashi's. Tracing his eyes as she caressed fingers down his cheek, she feathered her lips to his, gently drinking in the words they had sung mere seconds ago. The notion alone meant more to Kakashi than anything Anko could say – soft, gentle kisses were diamonds that he cherished, even more so than his precious 'Icha Icha' books. Settling on his chest once more, Anko closed her eyes.

"So did you end up finding him?"

Kakashi took a quick breath.

"Yeah," he said through a sigh, "he wasn't that hard to find. Asuma and I just needed to follow the trails of blood in the sand."

Anko twinged her nose slightly, willing away an itch on the tip with a quick swipe of the back of her hand.

"And you got him back to Sunagakure?"

"That was what took so long."

Suddenly finding concern bubbling in her heart, Anko shifted slightly, opening her eyes.

"… That's not going to… I mean, you don't think that'll happen to Naruto, do you?"

Kakashi suddenly fell silent, still managing to shoulder the worry that Anko's question had raised. After a lengthy pause, Kakashi placed a hand against Anko's head, caressing his thumb across her hair.

"Gaara is volatile and violent. His life of loneliness has caused him to hate 'normal' people…" Kakashi released a worried breath. "… personally, I think he's beyond help, but Naruto is different. Whereas Gaara has given up on people, Naruto hasn't. He's determined to show himself to be better than just a Jinchuriki-"

"But he doesn't know that he _is_ one."

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly as he faced the ceiling. Anko spoke the truth – Naruto was still unaware of the reason that some villagers hated and feared him.

"… I know, but Hiruzen has forbidden us from revealing the truth to him. I'm just worried that he's going to find out the _hard_ way."

Anko lifted her head to meet Kakashi's, questioning eyes falling towards him.

"Naruto is very possessive and protective of his friends, especially Hinata," Kakashi continued, thinking over the last few missions he'd taken the group of Genin on. "If they were ever in danger or seriously injured, Naruto would be the first to react violently in defence… and I'm afraid that _that_ act alone might break the seal."

"… and what would that mean?"

Kakashi turned toward Anko, shame evident within his gaze.

"If he can't control it… then I'll have to find a way to re-activate the seal… or kill him."

Anko suddenly jolted, facing Kakashi with a panicked stare.

"K-kill him? Hiruzen told you… _Hiruzen told you to kill him?_"

"Only in the event that I can't re-activate the seal. Naruto is my student, Anko," he stated, pressing a reassuring hand to her cheek, "I'll die before I let anything happen to my team."

A small smile etched its way onto Anko's features, but she still wasn't entirely at ease. Over the past few years, Anko and Naruto had grown quite close. She'd even go so far as to call Naruto her 'little brother' because of how many beliefs and characteristics they shared. Knowing that, she could never bring herself to believe that he'd give in to Kurama's hatred, no matter how strong it might have been. She sullenly flopped her head against Kakashi's shoulder, burbling her lips together as she released a sigh of exhaustion.

"Naruto won't do anything to hurt anyone. He's too kind and caring, even though he's a cocky pain in the ass sometimes," Anko pondered aloud, giggling at the thought of the numerous times that Naruto had stated that he'd be the Hokage someday. "Hah, he can thank his mother for that trait."

Kakashi nodded as he laughed in agreement. Anko felt a tingle stretch into her spine as she fought back a yawn. Stretching her body across Kakashi's, she mirrored his position for only a second before tumbling to the right side of the bed, shifting rather animatedly across Kakashi and making him raise a questioning brow.

"Can't make up your mind, can you?" Kakashi asked, smiling and turning to her as her head landed on the pillow beside his own. She moaned seductively, quickly stretched her neck and then glued her amber eyes to his.

"Trying to decide which side of you I missed more," she sang, clawing affectionately at his chest. Kakashi smiled, leaning towards Anko and closing his eyes. Anko mimicked his actions, awaiting the sensation of another gentle kiss. Surprised by a tiny disturbance in the mattress, Anko opened her eyes, taken aback when greeted by nothing more than an empty pillow. She attempted to lift herself, only to be pushed backwards by an unknown force. Finding herself unexplainably pinned to the mattress, Anko's eyes widened as she turned her gaze skyward, finding Kakashi's suddenly burning eyes peering straight through her complimented by a wicked grin. Without warning, he pushed his lips fiercely to hers, igniting her desire for him in mere seconds as she struggled against his unyielding hold. Recovering from each other just long enough to catch their breath, Anko wantingly wrapped her legs around Kakashi's lower back as he brushed passed her cheek.

"I think I know the side you're referring to," he whispered, dangerously sensual breaths tearing fire down Anko's neck. Almost pushing Anko to the brink with that notion alone, Kakashi felt her heartbeat pound against his chest, once again locking his lips to hers. Breaking from his hands as an ecstatic smile lavished her features, Anko thrust her hands around his neck, pulling him into her fiery passions as the two Jonin, for the third time, claimed the night as their own.

* * *

After more truths, more childish dares involving embarrassing kisses and more acts of romance between the three Genin couples, the children found themselves proceeding to their rooms for the night. Ino, Kiba, Sakura and Sasuke all made their way towards the guest room. Naruto managed to get one foot out of the Hinata's door before a timid voice stopped him.

"Ummm… N-Naruto…"

Naruto quickly turned back, already spying Hinata pressing her fingers together. He blinked.

"Yeah? What's up, Hinata?" he said, stepping back into her room. Hinata inched towards him, darting from her fingers to his eyes cautiously.

"If… I-if you want, you c-can sleep in my r-room tonight…" she practically whispered. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Wow, really? I mean, I've wanted to fall asleep with you for _ages_, so ye-oh! Ummm, if that's alright with you, Hinata? I-i-if not, I'll just bring in the other be-!"

Hinata met Naruto's lips as she smiled, cutting him off and prompting him to smile as well. She pulled away from him as she playfully tapped fingers against his chest.

"I-I wouldn't have asked if it wasn't a-alright, silly. I'll wait here, ok?" she said, meeting his eyes as she locked her hands behind her back. Naruto gave her a thumbs up, smiling and turning towards the door.

"Ok! I'll be back in a flash!"

Naruto smiled widely back towards the heiress, dashing madly out of her door towards the guest room. Hinata smiled as she turned towards her own mattress, taking off her shirt as she quickly tugged on a nighty. Finishing with a singlet, she readied herself to lie in her bed and wait for Naruto to enter before three definite knocks were heard on her door. She smiled, sitting on her mattress and wondered how he'd gotten his things so fast.

"You know it's open, silly."

As the door opened, Hinata's emotions quickly turned from happiness to panic as a tall figure entered the room.  
A tall figure with long black hair.  
A tall figure with long black hair and a kimono.  
A tall figure with long black hair, a kimono and pale eyes.

"Good evening, Hinata."

Hinata panicked as she quickly stood, bowing towards her father.

"G-g-good evening, f-father," she said, keeping her eyes to the floor, "wh-what can I d-do for you?"

Hiashi approached her, placing a hand against her lowered shoulder.

"Nothing, it's fine, I just… wanted to talk to you."

Hinata's eyes widened as she bolted upright, looking her father straight in the eyes.

"T-talk?"

"About your... boyfriend."

Hinata felt her heart sink upon those words. She _knew_ Hiashi wouldn't have approved of Naruto. Honestly, she had no idea how she'd played it out this long. Nervously poking her fingers together, she lowered her gaze.

"I… I don't want t-to break up with him, f-father. N-Naruto makes me… h-he makes me happy and I look up to him-"

"I know, I know. I'm not asking you to break up with him."

Hinata gasped as Hiashi lifted her gaze to his.

"I just wanted to say that… I've had time to think…" he began, allowing Hinata's mind to run impromptu.

'_He's… he's been THINKING? He's ok with Naruto and I? We'll be ok? Does he want us to get married? AM I GOING TO MARRY NARUTO? ! At TWELVE YEARS OLD? ! Wh-wh-what is he THINKING? That's… that's far too young! Oh, but if Naruto asked me… I-'_

"… so, do we understand each other?"

Hinata popped out of a cinnamon day dream, meeting her father's eyes in panic – _she'd day-dreamed through his speech!_

"Ummm… j-just to b-be clear, just so I-I don't disappoint you, father, can you explain it once more?"

Hiashi seemed slightly taken aback, but nevertheless, reiterated his words.

"Very well. I've seen a great improvement over your confidence and mission gradings the last few weeks and surmised that… although I might not have wanted to believe it, Naruto really _does_ bring out the best in you. So, as long as you maintain your status, your perfect mission completions and pass the upcoming Chunin Exams, then… you have my permission to continue your relationship with the boy. So… do we understand each - oomph!"

Hiashi couldn't finish his sentence as Hinata burst forward, wrapping her arms around him, her fragile and delicate nature seemingly lost under the constrictive hold she'd suddenly discovered.

"I p-promise, father! I'll become a g-great ninja, a-and only keeping getting b-better! Th-thank you, thank you _so_ much!"

Hiashi smiled warmly as he placed a hand atop Hinata's head, gently brushing his hand over his daughter's hair.

"I know you'll be a great Shinobi, Hinata," he started, lifting Hinata's eyes to his. "Just remember that your missions always come first, and that no matter what, you will always-"

"Oh, good evening, Master Hiashi!"

Hiashi froze as Naruto entered the room with his sleeping gear. Hinata suddenly released her father, remembering that she'd asked Naruto to spend the night with her! Terror bolted her system as a sense of déjà vu suddenly flashed across her mind. Hiashi slowly turned to the blonde-haired Genin, wincing as he eyed the pillow and clothing bag he had in his hands.

"… G-good e-evening, Naruto. Wh-what are you d-doing here?"

Hinata watched the look on Naruto's face as she, once again, drilled the ends off of her fingertips.

'_No, oh God, no! This is happening AGAIN? ! Naruto, for the love of God, PLEASE DON'T SAY-'_

"Oh, Hinata and I are gonna sleep together! She said she wants to! It's gonna be great!"

Hiashi went (if possible) an even more pale white than his Kimono, turning his shuddering head towards his daughter - his angelic, innocent daughter, who had suddenly turned bright red and began igniting sparks from her index fingers. His spine snapped itself straight, rendering him immobile as a familiar light-headedness began to wane his consciousness. Surely, he'd heard wrong… or by God, he wanted to believe he had!

"H-H-Hinata… wh-wh-what d-did he j-just s-s-say?" Hiashi stuttered, a definite twinge in his left eye. Hinata froze as she stuttered a response, barely more comprehensible than his own.

"N-N-N-Naruto a-and I w-were g-going to sh-share… ummm… sh-sh-share… the r-room…" she began, once again 'saved' by Naruto's two cents worth - He certainly had a knack for knowing when Hinata couldn't talk.  
Knowing what to say when she couldn't talk? Not so much.

"Yeah! It's our first time! We're both _really_ excited! Right, Hinata?"

The Hyuga's eyes both burst open in tandem, both unable to take their eyes off of Naruto's intensely satisfied smile.

"_F-F-F-FIRST T-T-TIME? !"_

_***Thu-Bump!***_

Kiba and Sasuke howled with laughter as they helped Naruto drag Hiashi's lifeless body to his chambers. Needless to say, Hinata would never forget hers and Naruto's 'first time'.

* * *

Gonna be hopefully looking into a few more pairings over the next couple of days/chapters! Hope you guys enjoyed this one – sorry it took so long to post!

R 'n' R, good writing to all!

_**LS.**_


	6. 6: Bombs, Brunettes and Blondes

The smell of the early morning graced her as Anko watched the sunrise from Kakashi's rooftop. A gentle breeze touched her shoulders as she tightened her robe around herself, unaware of a certain grey-haired Jonin leaning against the railings of the balcony beneath her.

"You do know I have chairs out here, right?"

Anko blinked in surprise, faltering her gaze from the sky as she peered over the edge of the roof. Kakashi had raised two mugs to her as he met her gaze. Anko reached down, grabbing the cups and taking her seat on the roof once more. Within seconds, she heard the familiar squeaking of the pine-wood step ladder as Kakashi came into view, the scarlet hue of the sunrise gleaming around him.

"You could have put a bed out there and I still would have come up here to watch the sunrise," she stated, smiling mischievously towards him as he took a seat beside her. Offering him his mug, Anko smiled warmly as she planted a kiss on his cheek. "Good morning, sweetie."

Placing an arm around her, Kakashi took his cup of coffee happily as he placed a kiss on her temple. A quick giggle escaped her nose as she brought the cup to her face, inhaling deeply.

"So, what do you think our lovable little Genin are up to today?" she asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. Kakashi shrugged.

"Well, I, for one, hope they're training."

Anko smiled wide, nodding her head against him.

"That's right - the Chunin exams aren't far off, are they?"

"Not at all," Kakashi pondered, taking a sip of his coffee. "Three weeks, actually."

"You think they're all getting ready?" she asked, keeping her eyes on the half-risen sun. Kakashi smiled, raising his cup.

"It's all any of them talk about," Kakashi mused, taking a sip of his coffee. "I'm sure they'd be well into stern training by now."

* * *

"HAHA-RUN!"

Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru burst out of a street of Konoha, barely metres behind Naruto who held a proud lead. The early morning had provided a perfect cover for Naruto Uzumaki's latest prank, with the faint morning sun barely covering half the town as the Genin dashed madly away from the house.

"Would you guys _hurry up!?_ Last thing I wanna do is get caught!"

"Why don't… you slow… down, Naruto! Geez," called Choji, desperately trying to catch his breath, "it's like you think they're gonna-"

_***Boom!***_

"Whoa! What the-!"

_***Bang!***_

"_S-S-Stink bombs!?"_

_***Pop!***_

"Oh, _CACK! LEMME OUTTA HERE-"_

_***Sploosh!***_

"_WHAT THE FU-BLURGLURGURGLE!"_

_***Squish!***_

_***Thump!***_

_***Pffffff…***_

"_EVERY MAN FOR THEMSELVES!"_

Choji swiftly burst into his signature 'human bullet tank' jutsu, bulldozing his way forward in a desperate attempt to not be left behind. Shikamaru burst into laughter as Kiba took to all fours, scrambling past him and easily making it to Naruto's side within seconds.

"Oh my… GOD! Hahaha, HAH! Whaddaya think he's… gonna do when… he finds out!?"

Naruto turned to his ambling friend, Akamaru poking just out of the top of his hood.

"He's not gonna find out, that's the _beauty of it!_ Seriously, we'll be _fine_, or my name's not-"

"_NARUTO UZUMAKIIIIII!"_

Needless to say, Naruto's heels began to hit the back of his head as the four Genin screamed toward the entrance to Konoha.

* * *

"The _entire_ house, Naruto?"

Iruka tapped his chopsticks against his ramen bowl, smiling at Naruto in disbelief. The latest prank, involving shadow clones, stink bombs and a bucket or two of brown paint, divulged in its entirety to his previous sensei, had been completed perfectly. Naruto smiled, nodding up and down and polishing off his fourth bowl of ramen.

"Yup! He'll be stinkin' for weeks! But that's what Ebisu gets for being a pervert!"

Iruka laughed, knowing very well that Ebisu wouldn't have the gall to turn Naruto in, even for such a humiliating prank. Naruto had enough evidence (and quite a few witnesses) to prove that he had caught Ebisu perving into the women's bathing area. However, instead of reporting it, Naruto decided to prank him in order to teach him a lesson…

… and throwing brown paint over him while slapping him and his house with an odour akin to the cattle stockades clearly proved a lesson that Ebisu would not soon forget.

"You shoulda seen him walking outta his front door! _HAH!_" Naruto reminisced fondly, remembering the soaking beige mess that was Ebisu staggering from his front door while Naruto watched at a much safer distance. "It looked like he was covered in cr-"

"Here's the next round, Naruto!"

Thankfully cut off from finishing his sentence, Naruto happily exclaimed a thank-you to Ayame as she set the bowl of beef ramen down in front of him. Smiling wide and sniffing in the flavours that he cherished so, Naruto feverishly hacked at the meal with his chopsticks as Ayame turned warmly towards Iruka.

"You need anymore, sweetie?" she chimed, flicking her long brown hair from her face. Iruka jolted, smiling nervously and slapping a hand to the back of his head.

"A-ah, not just y-yet, thanks! Still goin' on this one, heh," he replied, laughing tensely as Naruto suddenly halted his ravenous consumption and craned his head towards him. Ayame released a quick giggle as she happily flicked a finger towards Iruka.

"Well, you eat up and let me know when you want some more, 'kay?" she said sweetly, turning from the counter with another beautiful smile and starting on another bowl for Naruto. When she was partially out of ear-shot, Naruto – with strands of ramen still hanging from his mouth – darted between Iruka and Ayame, a questioning pout along his lips.

"Whap fwa heg ifw upf wiff fwha?" he spluttered, seeming to forget, unfortunately for Iruka, that he had a mouthful of noodles. After flicking a maverick strand from his arm, Iruka wiped his hands and picked up his own chopsticks, took a mouthful of ramen, slumped his back and turned to Naruto.

"Whap fwa heg pip whou ghust thway?"

After Naruto quickly covered his mouth to contain his laughter (and noodles), Iruka smiled wide, quickly slurping up the remainder of his ramen and turning to Naruto once more.

"Now," he said, correcting his posture and pushing his bowl away from himself, "what the heck did you just say?"

Naruto quickly downed the remainder of his bowl, swallowed loudly and emptying a glass of water. He turned to Iruka, smirking and darting to Ayame, who still had her back to the two.

"What the heck is up with that? You got _super_ nervous when Ayame started talking to you!" he whispered loudly, leaning close to Iruka. Iruka blinked, turning towards the pretty young waitress and then back to Naruto.

"What are you talking about?" he asked cautiously, unable to stop a quick and not-so-innocent ogle of the young woman's figure from being noticed by Naruto, who promptly thrust two fists skywards in triumph.

"Ah-hah! I _knew_ it! Iruka-sensei's got the hots for-_MMPH!"_

Clamping a hand over Naruto's mouth, Iruka quickly pulled him close and whispered furiously.

"Naruto, _GEEZ!_ Keep it _down!_"

Iruka turned a cautious eye to the kitchen, thankful that Ayame was still oblivious to the outburst and still preoccupied, before returning to Naruto, meeting his wide, questioning eyes.

"… Ugh, look-" Iruka released Naruto's mouth and placed a desperate smile on his face, "- it's your birthday next week, right?"

Naruto nodded.

"Alright, then," Iruka began, straightening up and pointing a finger to Naruto's forehead. "If you just be quiet, _right now_, I'll take you for ramen every single day for a week, starting tomorrow. Sound good? You can keep your big mouth closed for a while?"

Naruto placed a largely satisfied smile onto his lips, moving his hand to the corner of his mouth and performing a 'zip-lock' motion with his fingers across his face. Iruka sighed, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

"Thank you. Now," he started, turning back to the counter, "how about we get-"

"Another round?"

Iruka's eyes bolted open as Ayame held the bowl before him, winking flirtatiously as she placed Naruto's ramen before the young Genin, who wasted very little time with another short thank-you before practically diving into his bowl. Ayame smiled towards Iruka as he shuddered, meeting the brown eyes of the waitress and smiling nervously before accepting his bowl.

"Th-thank you, Ayame…" Iruka replied, bowing his head and placing the bowl before him. Surprised at finding a softer texture beneath his hands, he rounded his bowl and found a half-folded napkin underneath, held against his fingers. Iruka retrieved it, noticing small, neat writing whilst finding that Ayame had remained where she was. Iruka darted from the napkin to Ayame as she leaned over the counter, gently cupping her face with her hand whilst prodding the napkin with a delicate finger.

"My address, in case you get lost," she said with a gleam in her chocolate eyes as Iruka jolted, staring back at her in a way that he prayed didn't seem bizarre.

"L-lost?"

She nodded, smiling expectantly.

"Yeah, lost… you know, when you come to pick me up this Saturday."

Iruka choked, blinking warily.

"P-p-pick you up?"

"Mhm… for our _date_," she said, pausing, straightening up and placing a finger to her lips. "Oh, but don't worry - _I'll keep my big mouth closed for a while,_ 'kay?"

Iruka turned beet red as a clattering of a ramen bowl was heard next to him.

"Oh no! I totally forgot about training! I'm gonna be late!"

Naruto burst from his chair, reaching feverishly into his pocket. Lifting Gama-chan out, Naruto promptly opened him, took a handful of his money and slapped it down on the counter.

"That's for Iruka and me, Ayame! Keep the change, I gotta go! Bye, Iruka-sensei, I'll see you tomorrow!"

Iruka slowly craned his gaze to the dust cloud that Naruto had left in his wake, tossing up between following him or bolting in the other direction. Unfortunately, the nerves that ran static through his system had rendered his legs paralysed, so dashing (let alone _moving_) wasn't exactly an option, and with scarce few possibilities remaining…

"Awww, that's so sweet, he paid for you!" Ayame sang, staring happily after the fleeing youth and dragging a hand over his money, sweeping it from the counter and into her hand. Iruka released a nervous laugh, placing his hand to the back of his head once again.

"Y-yeah, gotta love little… brothers, right?"

Ayame smiled, taking what was needed for the payment and setting the rest aside, counting thoughtfully.

"… And that's four bowls of ramen for next time," she laughed, placing it in the till underneath the counter. Iruka sat still, confused as Ayame turned to him once more.

"Next time?" he asked, thereafter taking a mouthful of ramen from his bowl. Ayame nodded enthusiastically, motioning a nod towards the direction Naruto had fled.

"We never take any of Naruto's tips - he's our favourite customer, so we just take whatever's left over off his next purchase."

Iruka found himself almost moved by Ayame's words, as short and simple as they were. Ayame stared contentedly towards the young boy as he rounded a corner and disappeared from view.

"Poor kid gets overcharged with _every_ other store, because of-" Ayame narrowed her eyes in concern before returning to Iruka, "-well, you know why. So, we don't mind helping him out, even if it's just a little bit. He's responsible for a lot of our business, so we just tell him that we're having a special or something so he doesn't cotton on."

Almost no one in Konoha treated the boy fairly, and all because of the demon fox that was sealed away inside him. The words seemed to float from Ayame as Iruka was suddenly extremely happy to find out that he wasn't the only villager who cared deeply for the boy. He sighed, meeting Ayame's eyes as she tilted her head slightly.

"That's… really nice of you, Ayame. Thank you," he started, turning to his bowl of Ramen thoughtfully. "Almost every other villager despises him because of Kurama. I don't get it, though – Naruto isn't the fox, he's… he's just Naruto! I mean, I lost my parents because of that _damn_ fox, but what right does that give me to treat Naruto like trash? He didn't even have a _choice_ in becoming a Jinchuriki…"

Ayame smiled happily towards Iruka as he began fiddling around with his Ramen. She folded her arms and leaned against the counter, staring endearingly towards the suddenly silent man.

"… You really care about him, don't you?"

Iruka ceased his fiddling, looking up towards her as a smile etched at the corner of his mouth. For some reason, the memory of giving Naruto his headband and allowing him to graduate from the academy flashed across his mind.

"Like a said… he's basically my little brother."

Ayame smiled wider, revealing her straight, white teeth as Iruka found himself returning the gesture. He helped himself to another mouthful of ramen at, quite possibly, not the best time.

"Maybe we'll adopt him someday?"

Iruka's eyes exploded from his head as he almost choked on his ramen, turning disbelievingly towards Ayame as she turned from him and busied herself with the task of washing dishes.

"W-We?" Iruka stammered, wondering what she was possibly thinking, before a sudden light dawned upon him. "O-oh! You mean you and your father, right?"

Ayame turned to Iruka with a wide smile as Iruka was sure that he'd solved the misunderstanding.

"Nope."

All Iruka remembered after that was Ayame's sweet, sweet smile, the salty, salty ramen… and the hard, hard ground.

* * *

The Konoha training fields were surprisingly silent and barren in light of the upcoming exams. Awaiting the arrival of the others, only three Genin found themselves there, gathering chakra and performing basic jutsu's towards the training posts. Having an odd number of candidates didn't _exactly_ make for even taijutsu sparring, so Shikamaru, Sasuke and Kiba found themselves with time to kill before they waited for their numbers to even out.

"Man, what a drag… these exams are taking way too long to get here…"

Shikamaru lazily opted out of the second round of ninjutsu training as Kiba and Sasuke fired basic jutsu's towards the wooden training poles.

"Aren't you even a _little_ worried about them?" Kiba asked bluntly, pushing a fire jutsu from his hands and watching it explode against the post. "You _do_ realise that they're only like… not even three weeks away?"

Sasuke launched two of his own fire jutsu towards his own training post, splitting the wood down the centre with a loud crack as he turned contentedly to Kiba.

"I'd be more worried about yourself, Kiba," he said with a smirk, gathering his chakra and forming the 'tiger' hand seal, "especially if you've gotta fight him in the exams."

Kiba scoffed, raising a brow towards Sasuke as he turned to his post.

"Hah! I ain't got a worry in sight. Me an' Akamaru can-"

"_Akamaru and I,_ Kiba" Shikamaru corrected, smiling into a yawn as he stretched. Kiba turned to him irately, shaking a clenched fist in the Genin's direction.

"Bite me, bean-pole! At least I'm doing _some_ kind of training! Heh, not that I need to, because…"

Kiba returned confidently to Sasuke.

"… _Me _and _Akamaru _can take anything that comes our way! Right, buddy?"

"Arf!"

Launching another fire jutsu towards his post, Kiba bellowed loudly as he finally was able to break the wooden beam, managing even before Sasuke to reduce it to cindered splinters.

"Whoa-hoh, yeah! Beat that, Uchiha!"

"HEEEEEY! Sorry I'm late, guys!"

Shikamaru sprang up, turning to the loud voice as Naruto made his way towards them. Waving him over as Sasuke and Kiba ceased their jutsu trainings, Shikamaru pushed himself to his feet while Kiba waved to the approaching Genin.

"Took ya long enough, whiskers!" he called, walking towards Naruto with Akamaru barking happily from under his hood. "So, how much crap are you in about Ebisu?"

"Hah, I can't believe that you actually pulled it off, to be honest," Sasuke added, stretching his wrists out as himself and Shikamaru walked towards the incoming blonde.

"Hah, I'm not in any trouble at all, believe it! That is, if Ebisu wants to keep his job," Naruto laughed, smiling and placing his hands behind his head. Shikamaru joined in, folding his arms as he smiled towards the boy.

"Hah, man, he looked like a giant turd when he came outta his house! Classic," he mused, tilting his head from side to side as he stretched his neck. "Right, so are we ready?"

Naruto nodded, making his way towards the pile of bags that the others had brought. Throwing his own bag down carelessly, he turned back to the group, looking around quickly.

"Where's Choji? Actually, what about Lee and Shino? Aren't they all supposed to be here?" he asked, folding his arms. Shikamaru shrugged uncaringly.

"Eh, Choji's off with his dad for some reason – think he said somethin' about learning a secret family jutsu. Lee's off with Guy, doing some crazier taijutsu training and as for Shino? That's a good question. Anyone know about that 'Neji' guy?"

"Oh, you mean Hinata's cousin?" Naruto said happily turning to Shikamaru as Sasuke began to twist his torso back and forth. "I've heard that he's training in the Hyuga Estate. I don't think we're gonna see him until the Chunin exams… he's really weird anyway."

"Ah well, their loss I say!" Kiba butted in, clapping his hands together. "Right! Let's go get these girls! I'm itchin' to spar!"

"Yeah, so are we!"

The boys turned around, facing the direction of the elegant voice as Ino, Sakura and Hinata approached the training grounds, smiling and raring to go. Ino smirked confidently upon locking eyes with Kiba, flicking her long yellow hair as Sakura and Hinata waved energetically.

"Hinata!" Naruto exclaimed happily, running towards the heiress who smiled and mimicked his notions. Throwing her arms around him as the two exchanged a kiss on each other's cheek, Hinata swayed with Naruto as Ino took to Kiba's side and Sakura took to Sasuke's.

"Already split the post, I see," Sakura teased, motioning towards the training post behind Sasuke as he shrugged.

"I was bored, what can I say?"

"How about 'Nice to see you, Sakura'?"

Sasuke laughed, pulling Sakura into a warm embrace as she brushed a kiss to his cheek.

"Good to see you, too," Kiba laughed as Ino pecked his cheek and pulled him into a hug.

"Didn't miss me too much, I hope?" Ino chimed, pulling back to face her boyfriend as Kiba chuckled.

"Eh, maybe a little," he teased, lifting his gaze to a small head poking out under his hood. "Someone else did as well."

"Arf!"

Ino laughed as she scratched a finger to Akamaru's head, watching happily as the pup leaned into her affections.

"Nice to see you girls decided to show up. We're already missing three people," Shikamaru whinged, stretching out his arms as Sakura looked around.

"So, Choji, Shino and Lee aren't coming?" she asked as Hinata, Sakura and Ino collectively placed their bags besides the boys'.

"Apparently not. Eh, bit of a drag, but can't be helped. So," Shikamaru cracked his knuckles, a smirk lining his face, "how're we gonna go about this? We've _still_ got uneven numbers."

"Sorry I'm late, guys!"

The Genin all turned to the voice as Tenten dashed towards the group, her signature bag of weapon scrolls dangling from her hip. Quickly closing the distance, Tenten stopped beside Hinata, Sakura and Ino, bending over and attempting to catch her breath.

"A-are you ok, Tenten?" Hinata asked, turning to her. Tenten raised a hand, still breathing heavily as she smiled.

"Y-yeah, just had to take care of a few things at home… whoo… ok! So, what are we up to?"

"Well," Shikamaru began, turning to the group of boys before motioning to Tenten, "now that you're here, we're gonna get started on some sparring. We've all been working on our ninjutsu so far-"

"Me and Sasuke, anyway-"

"Sasuke and _I_, Kiba," Shikamaru corrected again, laughing towards the harrumphing Genin and then returning to Tenten. "Either way, we're raring to go."

"Well then, let's decide who's fighting who," Ino called, turning to the boys and girls alike as she stepped forward, stretching her arms confidently. "Any takers for the 'Beautiful Kunoichi of Flowers'?"

Kiba swiftly shot his hand skywards as Shikamaru raised an unamused brow.

"I thought we were here to spar, not come up with stupid nicknames for each other."

A nerve pinched at the top of Ino's head as each of the girls took a cautious step back. Kiba's hand slowly fell from the air as Naruto, Sasuke and himself slowly backed away from the soon-to-be war zone, watching fearfully as Ino craned her head towards the silent Shikamaru. Even the Nara boy found himself slightly unnerved as Ino's fingers clenched into angered fists while her eyes held a slightly threatening twitch – Ino had always taken great pride in her self-made moniker and, as is commonly known, when someone's pride is hurt…

"_SHIKAMARUUUUU!_"

… the pride tends to punch the offender in the face… or at least in_ this _case it does.

Launching herself towards the boy, Shikamaru swiftly formed a defensive stance, blocking Ino's flying punch with a defensive palm, knocking the blonde Genin back as Shikamaru took eagerly to a defensive taijutsu stance.

"Right, you stupid, lazy _twat!_ YOU'RE MINE!"

"Bring it on, Bangs McGee!"

Shikamaru and Ino launched themselves to the opposite side of the training fields, attacking each other wildly and deflecting blow after blow as Kiba shouted towards the sparring Genin.

"_HEY, SHIKAMARU! IF YOU PUT ONE BRUISE ON MY GIRLFRIEND'S BODY, I'M GONNA REARRANGE YOUR FACE!_" Kiba called loudly as Akamaru yapped in agreement. Shikamaru deflected another punch from Ino, pushing her away from him as he turned to Kiba with a mischievous grin.

"_AT LEAST I'LL STILL LOOK BETTER THAN HER!_" he shouted, quickly darting a satisfied leer towards Ino, who ever-so-tenderly replied:

"OH, _KISS MY ASS, _YOU _SONNUVABITCH!_"

Flailing wildly, Ino threw attack after attack towards him as Shikamaru continued his defensive counters, neither side giving an inch. Kiba sighed as he shoved his hands disappointedly into his pockets, looking forlornly towards the activity.

"Awww man… that's _totally_ bogus! Why does Shikamaru get to fight _my_ girlfriend?" he whinged, furrowing his brows as Naruto clapped a hand to his back.

"Because they were too quick for us, Kiba! Which is why _this_ is about to happen…"

Naruto smiled happily as a fire jutsu exploded next to Sasuke, rousing a shocked gasp from the group as the Uchiha performed an evasive backflip. Upon landing, Sasuke quickly turned to the direction of the blast.

"What the-"

Naruto smiled happily as he disappeared in a puff of smoke, making Kiba shield his eyes and cough.

"What the heck? That was a-"

"Fire release: Flame Bullet Jutsu!"

Another burst of flames tore straight towards Sasuke as Sasuke formed his own hand signs.

"Fire release: Flame Bullet Jutsu!"

The two flames collided and exploded upon impact, causing the Genin to shield their eyes and recoil from the blast… except for two.

Naruto burst through the smoke and ash, launching a confident fist towards Sasuke who quickly dodged and retaliated with a quick kick. Foreseeing the counter, Naruto blocked the strike as he jumped backwards, both Genin recovering with confident smiles on their faces.

"Hah, you _have_ gotten better, Naruto!" Sasuke replied, forming a tiger hand sign. "Still, you'll have to do better than that to beat me!"

"Oh, I know that, Sasuke! That's why _you're_ my sparring partner!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing a daring finger towards Sasuke. "I'm gonna beat you and prove that I can be the Hokage! Believe it!"

Sakura and Hinata turned wide-eyed towards each other. They knew the two boys were fiercely competitive, especially towards each other, and they honestly weren't entirely sure how happy they would be with their boyfriends tearing each other apart. Hinata stepped forward, being the first to raise an (albeit timid) objection.

"N-Naruto, Sasuke! A-are you sure you two are g-going to-"

"Don't worry about me, Hinata," Naruto replied confidently, forming his 'shadow clone' hand sign, "I'll be fine! It's _Sakura _that should be worrying; her boyfriend's about to go home in a matchbox!"

Sakura clenched a fist towards Naruto as Hinata pointed her fingers together, a small smile etching onto her face as her cheeks began to redden. She had secretly hoped that Naruto would dismiss her objections - she'd wanted him to have a chance at proving himself against Sasuke since their first kiss!

"Sakura's got nothing to worry about, Naruto," Sasuke responded, smirking as he gathered his chakra. "Hinata, on the other hand, might miss you after I kick your butt from here to Sunagakure, so here's your last chance to chicken out!"

Naruto laughed as he shook his head, prompting a wide smile from Hinata as she internally exploded in cheer.

"You know me better than that, Sasuke, so c'mon! Are you gonna fight me, or _what!?_"

Sasuke raised a brow, finding a quick bet to place on the outcome of the match. He straightened up, dismissing his hand signs and took to an offensive taijutsu stance.

"Alright then, but if I win, then you hafta teach me the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

"You're on, but if _I _win, then you hafta teach me the Dragon-Fire Jutsu!"

"Done! So c'mon! Ladies first!"

Naruto smiled wide, bursting on the inside as a fantastic practical joke entered his mind.

"Hah! If you _insist!_"

Naruto formed his 'Shadow Clone' hand sign as he gathered his chakra. Sasuke, clearly growing impatient as Naruto remained still with a mischievous smile across his face, launched towards the Genin, fists at the ready. Hinata gasped as she reached towards Naruto, fearing for the absolute worst.

"N-Naruto! _W-watch out!_" she cried as Sasuke quickly closed the distance between the two.

"Alright then, Naruto! If you're not going to make the first move, then I-"

"MULTI-SHADOW CLONE HAREM JUTSU!"

Sasuke's eyes exploded as he released an ear-splitting shriek - a multitude of beautiful, blonde haired and stark-naked women (save for thin clouds of mist around their _personal spaces_) lavished themselves around him, grabbing at his face, body and… everywhere else.

"Oh, Sasuke! Look at these muscles!"

"Sasuke, won't you be with me tonight?"

"Why not me as well?"

"Don't forget me! We can invite Sakura as well!"

"Oh Sasuke! Look at the size of your-"

"_TEHEHEHEHE!"_

"_N-N-N-N-NAR-NARUTOOOOOOOOO!"_

The Uchiha struggled helplessly as the beautiful women piled on top of him, exposing only the crown of his head and a desperately flailing leg as he attempted again and again to free himself from the mountain of misty females. Naruto Uzumaki had fallen to the floor in laughter, his sides splitting as he wheezed through hoarse breaths at the look on Sakura's face - it had turned to absolute horror.

'_Th… th-th-that's m-my BOYFRIEND! HE'S… HE'S C-C-COVERED IN…G-G-GETTING TOUCHED B-BY…'_

"**S-S-S-S-SAS-SASUKEEEEEEEEEE!**... Oooh…**"**

_***Thump!***_

Sakura, unable to comprehend her insane jealousy, anger and the absolute _ridiculousness_ of Naruto's highly inappropriate technique, had haplessly fainted as Hinata, Kiba, Tenten and even Ino and Shikamaru all turned wide-eyed towards the conglomeration of blonde hair, screaming Uchiha and coarse Naruto wheezes. Shikamaru and Kiba both suddenly fell victim to explosive nose-bleeds at the sight of the winking, giggling and (above all) naked women, soon after falling face first into the training grounds, followed very closely by Ino and Tenten. To Naruto's surprise, Hinata had remained absolutely frozen where she stood, not even swaying the faintest amount. However, she _still_ managed to become a darker shade of red than a beetroot (_and Naruto had been in this series long enough to realise what that meant!)._ Failingly making his way to his feet, Naruto desperately attempted to make his way towards the heiress, falling over again and again due to his laughter. He knew she was going to faint, and could only hope to get there before she did.

"Hah, Ha-ha-hi-ha-Hinata! Hahaha! I'm ca-ha-ha-_ha!-_coming! Do-hoh-hon't fain't just ye-heh-_heh_!-het!"

Hinata darted towards the still-screaming Sasuke as his head popped out of the mound of women, just in time for him to follow in Kiba's and Shikamaru's footsteps as an explosive nose-bleed rendered him unconscious. His arms and legs twitched maniacally; a nervous smile skittered across his face as Hinata darted between the giggling female Naruto's and the prominently rising and falling male Naruto. As only one thought entered Hinata's mind, Naruto thankfully flung his body behind her, arms wide open:

'… _N-Naruto as… as a girl… is… m-more beautiful th-than Ino… and… is absolutely… n-n-n… NAKED!'_

_***Whumpfff…***_

Nothing on earth could have prepared the poor heiress for _that_ technique as she fainted, landing on the still giggling Naruto as he placed his arms around her waist, dispersing his 'Harem Jutsu' clones at the same time.

"Wow! Hah! If I can make seven Genin faint with one technique, these exams are gonna be a breeze!"

* * *

Sorry this chapter took so long, guys! Also, I promise that the next chapter will actually have _proper_ training in it.

Leave a review; let me know what you all think!

Good writing to all!

_**LS.**_


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